BZPRPG - Ta-Wahi

[a goose]

IC: Pirok (The Fowadi)

"Respectfully," Pirok said through gritted teeth, "I disagree."

He eyed the Po-Toa with some suspicion; something about what he had said, or perhaps how he had said it, rubbed him the wrong way.

"This would be for the living. What Echelon did to those people isn't right; their loved ones need to know that they're not rotting in a Necromancer's cold storage. Add to that the fact that, as you yourself pointed out, the base poses a danger to anyone who finds it – it's better that someone who can resist that temptation tracks it down and destroys it now, before someone more vulnerable stumbles on it someday."

[Emzee]

IC: Makua — Deck of the Fowadi — Ta-Wahi Coast

Makua nodded dutifully to Krayn as he listened to the discourse.

"Say, Pirok's got the right idea. With the old ****** dead, he can't have anything too spicy for us. And we'd be doing some real good for the folks on Mata Nui. So what's the bounty?"

OOC: @Krayzikk @a goose @Void Emissary @otter @Snelly

[Krayzikk]

IC:

"Are you that person?"

Krayn had listened, scratching at his chin as he thought it over. His first, immediate impulse was that Pirok was right. He was an investigator, he was a guard; no one would ever know how many lives Echelon had taken, and no one would ever know how many bodies he had stolen. But his lair was the one place to find some. Some of those people could be brought home, and some of their loved ones— if any still lived— could have that closure. But it was more complicated than that. Not knowing was awful, but time had a way of providing its own closure. Not every missing persons case was resolved. Not even most. The jungle was a harsh place when Makuta reigned, and many of those that went missing were lost somewhere in its depths. If anything was left to find it wasn't recognizable anymore.

And a great many of Echelon's puppets were likely in a similar shape. The Necromancer had been infamous, and in his infamy stories had spread; he was always merely content with a puppet, he wanted puppets tailored to his purposes. Even those that could be recovered might not be... Intact. Sometimes knowing specifics was worse than accepting that you wouldn't know.

"I can't fault your wishes," He said slowly. "And you are of course free to do what you want. So is Makua, here, as is Skyra. But I think Rynekk is right, and I would urge you to consider that he might be. Ko-Wahi is a deeply inhospitable place. A few months of snow and ice may already have hidden it, and a few more will for certain. You may not be able to find it. You risk your own lives just looking. Even if you can find it you don't know what's inside. If you find it and there are no traps to be dealt with, how will you get those victims to civilization? How will you get them to their families? The cold's preservation will not last as soon as you leave the Wahi."

He shook his head, slowly and not without sympathy.
 

"And Makuta is back. If he wasn't I would be more encouraging. But braving the wastes, the Rahi under his power again, and trying to return an unknown but sizable cargo... Sometimes it's best to let the past stay buried. It won't return the dead to their families. You can help them better by keeping them from losing any more."

@a goose@Emzee@Void Emissary@Snelly

[Razgriz]

IC: Jolek [Ta-Wahi, Charred Forest]

"Dock before sundown," he repeated, furrowing his brow for a moment before cupping it in the arch between thumb and pointer finger. "Right..."

All things said and done; the claims sounded bold. "Bigger than the villages" was one thing, given that their conversation technically hit that mark already, being between two members of differing military forces... However tenuous it might have been on Jolek's end, after admitting to himself how ready he really was to quit. It still met the mark. Anything he offered there counted.

...Yeesh, though. Listen to that. Since when did he care for technicality? If the point was the same either way, that was what mattered— and it was.

"Bigger than the island", though?

That didn't register. Didn't make sense. The island was their world, right? Their people, and the reach of the threats they consequently meant to face. There wasn't anything of the sort...

Unless...

Unless this offering of an alternative hadn't come to him directly in the wake of sending two Lesterin bound for their home, this faraway land of "Seprilli", simply by coincidence. A journey the likes of which would take them to parts unknown, as they found more of who they were, once lost beneath the waves...

He had already turned an offer down once. Why do that again?

...Hold on, what did that even mean? where'd that thought come from—

Mata-Nui, his head was spinning here. First things first, before any decisions.

"What... Time is it right now, actually? I wasn't kidding earlier. I've been here all night?"

Edited January 31 by Razgriz

[BULiK]

On 1/28/2023 at 9:53 PM, Silvan Haven said:

Kale Ironshaper - Docks - Fowadi

IC: "We're stopping here to top off our supplies before we set off on a months long journey into the unknown. As well as one last stop for anyone that might want to leave or join the crew."

IC: Myhruk [Beach Outpost, The Fowadi]

"By 'the unknown' you mean Seprilli right? Do you even know where you're going?"

[The UltimoScorp]

IC Luten - Fowadi:

She gave a pout, but offered a cheerful wave for introductions before disappearing from the rail and reappearing on Kale's shoulder.

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Fowadi, Ta-Wahi Coast, Rehu Cove -

I understood how Pirok felt, not so long ago I probably would have felt the same way, ready to rush into danger without really thinking too hard about the dangers or potential consequences, good or bad.

Since Ko-koro however I had promised to change. Not just for my own sake, but for the people I cared about as well. I couldn't afford to be reckless...or well, as reckless.

"I understand how you feel Pirok, really I do. But Rynekk and Krayn are right, with Makuta back we need to focus on the big picture. As much as I would love to raid a necromancer's lab." Actually, I really didn't. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of stumbling across the zombified corpse of my old body, or whatever the f### was done to it. 

"Plus, we're about to be leaving the island. Got this whole voyage planned and all." There was no way in h### I was missing it either.

@Krayzikk @a goose @Void Emissary @Emzee @otter

[sunflower]

IC: Dehkaz [Ta-Wahi, Charred Forest]

Unconsciously, the Toa of Magnetism’s gaze flicked upward, as ineffectual an endeavour it was given he was met only by the perpetual smokey haze which obscured the sky above. Save for the faint glow diffusing the surroundings, there was little indication beyond whether or not the sun was burning in the sky or dipped below the horizon. Even then, the lava flows which frequented the area made the presence of light not a sure indication.

 "Midmorning," Dehkaz stated, mentally recounting his trek to this spot and the day's events thus far.  "I would suggest some rest, Highwind. Think on it."

With that, the Captain gave a nod of farewell, and turned towards the main path once again, leaving Jolek alone in the clearing once again with his battered tree.

[Toru Nui]

IC: Tekmo (Ta-Wahi Coast, Rehu Cove, The Fowadi)

"What’s this about necromancy?" Tekmo asked, having come into the conversation mid-way, hopelessly ignorant of the wider world around him.

@Snelly

[a goose]

IC: Pirok (The Fowadi)

Pirok sighed in resignation. He wasn't surprised – he knew this had been a long shot, but he had still hoped…

"I understand. You have responsibilities, and I know it's all pretty high risk." Then he turned his attention from Skyra to Krayn. "I know what I can resist, and I know what I'm risking, but I have thought this through. I have a Tryna, and my powers will keep me and any aid I have alive out in the Drifts – and, of course, come in handy when I burn that evil hellhole to the ground.

"That is to say, I'm going, with or without your help or your approval. If you don't have a lead on where I can find Merror, then my next stop is finding a guide in Ko-Koro. The longer I leave this, the more chance of Echelon's lair falling back into the wrong hands."

[Void Emissary]

IC: Rynekk | The Fowadi

"Echelon the Necromancer," said Rynekk, glancing over to Tekmo. "One of Makuta's most infamous lieutenants. Dead now, as you've probably guessed; but we all thought he was dead years before, too...."

He then looked back to Pirok, finding himself scarcely able to contain his frustration with the young man: a foolish, head-strong Toa far too assured of his own power and rightness to see the danger he was careening towards. The Makuta would make a meal out of him -- as He had once made a meal out of Rynekk, all those years ago. His frustration suddenly turned to sorrow and a fresh pang of regret.

"Spiritspeed to you, if you really intend to go through with this," Rynekk said, his eyes hard but his voice as comforting as he could manage. He reached down to his belt and twisted from it a handaxe. It was visibly ancient, its wooden shaft worn from countless hands, and its blade was inscribed with a half-dozen hexagonal runes of a language that Rynekk doubted even a Rau-wearer could discern. But its blade was sharp, and that's mattered. As well as...

"Take this; it might help you down in those depths," he said, holding the weapon out to Pirok. "It's been touched by some kind of magic; too far beyond my pay grade to guess at. But it'll blunt in the hands of an enemy, which might buy you a moment that could save your life."

OOC: @a goose

-Void

[Emzee]

IC: Makua — Ta-Wahi Beach, Deck of the Fowadi

“… You’re just gonna give him that for free?” Makua balked.

OOC: @a goose @Void Emissary et al

Edited February 14 by Emzee

[otter]

IC:

"I don't know that Merror ever even found Echelon's base," I spoke up, once it was clear that Pirok still intended to go through with this plan. "Before we got separated in a storm, I had been with Merror and Agni trying to find Echelon's base. We had a Matoran with us who had been working for that madman—but he managed to run off from us after we made it to Ko-Wahi, and there was no way to track him, and with him went our only lead." Probably for the better, though; had we been able to find Echelon's base while he was still alive, I'm not entirely certain the three of us would've stood the best chance.

Two fire Toa with morals, and one ice Toa without the power crutch I'd gotten used to using in fights like that, versus Mata Nui only knew what sort of power Echelon had to call upon by that point.

"Agni's the only other one who'd have had any idea, and he just told me over in Ga-Koro that as soon as he and Merror made it back here they split up. There aren't any leads we can give you." Good as his intentions seemed to be, I hoped that the bluntness might help dissuade him at least a little bit. "When you're out in the drifts, keep an eye out for any shelter you can find if the weather turns bad, don't think your element alone will be enough to save you, and don't pick any fights with Muaka. If you find any bodies, don't try to drag them along with you—retrieval is more trouble than it's worth unless you've got a Kualsi or a Kakama, and that's gotten more than a few stuck in a position where they were lucky not to freeze."

OOC: @Snelly@a goose@Void Emissary@Emzee@Toru Nui@Krayzikk

[Krayzikk]

On 2/10/2023 at 8:25 AM, a goose said:

IC: Pirok (The Fowadi)

Pirok sighed in resignation. He wasn't surprised – he knew this had been a long shot, but he had still hoped…

"I understand. You have responsibilities, and I know it's all pretty high risk." Then he turned his attention from Skyra to Krayn. "I know what I can resist, and I know what I'm risking, but I have thought this through. I have a Tryna, and my powers will keep me and any aid I have alive out in the Drifts – and, of course, come in handy when I burn that evil hellhole to the ground.

"That is to say, I'm going, with or without your help or your approval. If you don't have a lead on where I can find Merror, then my next stop is finding a guide in Ko-Koro. The longer I leave this, the more chance of Echelon's lair falling back into the wrong hands."

IC:

Krayn wasn't so sure of the other Toa's estimation of his will. He didn't think the man lied, or that he doubted his own estimate for a second. The trouble was that after everything he had seen, and been through, he was less certain. It seemed in his eyes that even the best could fall to temptations less virulent than whatever the Necromancer had unleashed in Ko-Wahi. But he'd had his say, and he hadn't been swayed.

"If you're set on it, there are a few things you should know." He directed his eyes towards the Mangai, and the cable car he knew would lead to Ko-Wahi. "The Rahi are much more aggressive than they have been in a long while. Muaka have been prowling the Wastes again. Fire doesn't scare them off the same way. Be careful of that. If you find the lair, and it connects to tunnels, you should stay out of them. The Darkwalk is more dangerous than it was."

"Best of luck."

@a goose

[otter]

IC:

"Burn anything you find if you do get into his lair," I added after a moment. "Notes. Experiments. Bodies. Any of it. Save nothing."

[a goose]

IC: Pirok (The Fowadi)

He wanted to refuse the gift – he wanted to refuse it out of politeness, yes, but moreso because of the look in Rynekk's eyes. He did not believe Pirok would come back from this, and Pirok wanted to prove him wrong. ****** his charity, and ****** him.

But that same look did not beggar disagreement, and Pirok knew in his heart that these Toa were right to doubt. Hesitantly, he took the hatchet.

"I'm borrowing this," he promised, with as much confidence as he could muster. "When you return from your voyage, I'll be here to give it back to you."

With that, he directed his attention to Praggos. "I won't burn the bodies – not without a thorough recording of them at the very least, and even then only if I don't believe I can return them to Ko-Koro. Aside from that… everything burns."

The lie was shockingly easy to tell; he almost believed it himself. What Praggos did not need to know was that Pirok already had a contingency; if he could not take the bodies, then he would still take a trophy – the same trophy Echelon had taken all those years ago, when he first set foot in the limelight.

"One last thing... tell me about the Matoran."

OOC: @ fowadi folks, but primarily @Void Emissary and @otter

Edited February 24 by a goose

[Razgriz]

IC: Jolek [Ta-Wahi, Charred Forest]

In the wake of that hulk's departure, a silence hung again beneath the intermittent breeze through the ash...

Only, eventually, to be punctuated by the soft brush of armor on mask, as a beleaguered groan floated from Highwind's mouth.

"...Seriously?"

[Snelly]

IC: Skyra Daring - Fowadi, Ta-Wahi Coast, Rehu Cove -

I let out a sigh as I listened to Pirok talk between Krayn, Praggos, and Rynekk. Honestly what Pirok was attempting didn't seem too far off from what I would have done, left to my own devices. Luckily for me I had friends that would pull my leash when necessary...that was kind of a weird analogy, but whatever. 

If I didn't have prior commitments already I probably would have offered to go with Pirok, just to make sure he didn't die out there in the snow. I couldn't say I wasn't at least a little worried about him. But it wasn't like we could stop him from going. 

Since I was just listening at this point, I started doing some stretches. Once I got through the basic set I did a few hand stands and other aerobics like that.

@Krayzikk @a goose @Void Emissary @Emzee @otter

[Emzee]

IC: Makua — Ta-Wahi Beach, Deck of the Fowadi

No quips emerged from Makua as he continued to listen; a rarity for Makua by any measure. He slowly looked to the side and noticed Skyra Daring in the throes of some sort of stretching exercise.

I suppose she can never stop moving for too long, Makua thought. The Ko-Toa wasn’t all that surprised—it seemed like all Toa of Air were like that. Wokapu was jumpy too.

Makua who had been more or less stock-still for the last few minutes, took a few steps back and to lean comfortably against the ship’s railing.

OOC: @Snelly @Krayzikk @otter @a goose @Void Emissary

[Razgriz]

IC: Jolek [Ta-Koro]

It had been a while since the lonely wooden halls had seen the activity of the past hour or so.

Typically, all they'd beheld was little more than a haggard, worn ghost of silver floating in from the street and into one of the side rooms, to not be seen until the next dawn. If lucky, the kitchen would see use— salad ingredients fished out from a larder and tossed together in one of the ceramic bowls, or a pan given the prestigious duty of searing off fresh game meat. The lava rat from a night ago, for instance, after being dried first against the ambient heat of the mask-maker's forge. It had seen its browning, once cleaned a little more thoroughly, in a pad of butter while the chef busied himself with rolling a few kinks out of his neck. That kind of simplicity and quickness— fittingly hearkening back to the days of having spent all further energy on surviving the hunt and leaving little room to indulge the finer culinary knowledge that lay in the mind. Surviving the day had been enough.

Things differed now, as a whirlwind had come to ransack the many shelves, closets, and drawers quietly collecting a film of fine dust every unremarkable evening. A hunter's yes had scanned them, purposeful hands had at times plucked out key contents after wiping away the grey— as if ensuring they could correctly read what they were snatching, before unceremoniously returning everything else to the stillness. A collection of pencils, accompanying blank pages bound in leather. They'd never before been touched by his hands, yet now seemed to call their entangled kin within the recesses of his mind. A bundle of cloth from a stale closet, left for the moths that would never survive the ambient ash. He had hardly bothered with much more than his armor and uniform, but they seemed worth having, spare fabric if nothing else. Off the shelves that the wall of shields had stood silent vigil, a single tome written by an author that meant nothing to his ears— but a favorite tale of Perkahn's, held in esteem for a portrayal of a calm and righteous warrior. A conceit that even made the man doing it scoff. He was no reader. Not even close— but there had always been something to the way it evoked fondness from a man that so often shared his son's rough-around-the-edge nature.

His eyes wandered, settling onto a sharpening stone. Keeping knives on one's person was like the training— further than something so wishy-washy as feeling "right". It was a necessity. Not there to be skipped. Such a primal, simple, utilitarian tool for life as it, a thousand uses known and a thousand more to discover, he couldn't imagine not keeping one on his person. It was survival. It needed to be maintained.

Across from the stone, they wandered again... And fell upon the promise he had made, at the start of this. Even in the low light, cast in orange upon its razor edges by the faint embers within the fireplace, its blade seemed to gleam in the silent vigil it held. Unmarred even by the stagnation, by the rest against the house, by the slow march of time after its story had, by all accounts, drawn to a dignified close. He wasn't gathering much. Wasn't ever gonna be. The weight on his back would be familiar, plus, if his larger counterparts' words were true, a weapon would be more than handy. You'd be hard pressed to find one more proven.

...

A grimace, then a huff as the head shook, scar on the cheek warping as the grimace pulled tight at the corners of his mouth.

He couldn't.

Wouldn't count.

All this was to finally fix the reason he'd put it down in the first place—

You don't get to use something to earn the right to hold it. Makes no ****** sense.

He'd renege on the promise he'd made. He'd kill the point of making it, be worse than useless.

He'd pack light.

He'd figure it out.

He wouldn't be made into a liar to Rebellion— it had chosen to wait, just as he'd let it.

Their day in the Sun together would come when he was ready. No sooner.

Promises were important.

...

Inevitably, he looked out towards the front door, Ta-koro's incessant bustle along the grids locked away behind the barrier of a home. Separated. Those were the streets he'd pledged to patrol, bereft of anything else. There was where more promises lay. Drinks with Balian, the mask-maker, met only yesterday but pleasant enough. His strength to Angelus, waning and unused in the tension that never wanted to boil over within the fortress city's walls, a friend of similar cloth and concept that was harder and harder to pull out from his own promises to the desk.

To Tarex at the gate, to grow, to rematch at the height of their powers and the height of his Self. 

Older than any. The start of everything he could call his own.

...

And now to the newest of them. Dehkaz Khyrilik. Docks before dusk.

Another path to fight "the good fight". "Bigger than the islands".

Another cause to pledge to?

Or the path forward, a road not taken?

 

"Nah,"  he said after a moment. "I ain't that interesting."

 

He had ignored these things before.

Where did that get him?

 

"You ready to play distraction?"

 

Where would going leave them?

His teeth grit, his hands folded the ends of the burlap pack in over on themselves in a simple square knot, his mind swam.

He rose, contents for travel light as a feather in the tight-knuckled grip of his right hand. He really never did pack much. Nothing to put his name upon.

Barely a trace of his passing left upon this home, both his and imperceptibly not.

..."hhh."

The gunmetal wraith named Jol Highwind marched off to that same side room as always, setting the bag down upon the floor in that same familiar destination all carry-on items found themselves, and flopped back-first onto the bedding in the same way, arms behind the head and knee leisurely kicked up, staring a hole through the plain ceiling in the undecorated room.

His head rolled over to the side.

Golden eyes narrowed.

The pack sat there, loose around its meager contents, but still undeniably packed.

... I should sleep on it. Mom always says to do that before decisions. They probably did it before deciding to skip town on me.

A deep yawn, pulling his jaw wide. A curtain of darkness closing round his vision, as the last of the fatigue left to feel sank him deeper into the cusion.

Yeah. Sleep'll be good. I'll know after that.

...One way or the other.

Edited April 10 by Razgriz
"In this way alone, if you do not take a broad field of vision towards what is true, it will be difficult to become an accomplished martial artist."

[ARROW404]

IC: Balian the Mask Maker - Kanohi Dragon Forge

Mask-making was an art. Of course, even a lava farmer would call his trade art, but Balian would dare anyone to come up and say it wasn't so of his trade in particular. A beautifully ornamented Mahiki sat finished before him, the product of two weeks' work, not counting breaks to focus on other commissions. Protodermic base, as with all masks meant to be worn, gilded at the edges and along the raised surfaces, set with gemstones from Onu-Wahi, truly a sight to behold. Maybe even a contender for his best work.

The finishing touch laid, he sat back in his rocking chair, joints creaking, and simply observed it. It almost was a shame this beauty wouldn't stay here. But the act of giving his masks to the buyer was an essential step in the ritual that was his daily life. It kept him humble, preventing him from amassing his pride around him. No, his place was dingy, covered in soot, and sparse in terms of decorations. It got cleaned once a month by a maid, and he didn't entertain much. Anyone would see the place and think 'a humble man lives here'. Balian didn't know if he could really be considered humble, but at least he didn't show it outwardly, except in his care and finesse in his craft.

"Thank Mata-nui I'm a mask maker," he sighed with a contented smile. He gave the arm rests of his chair a pat and lurched to his feet, took the mask off its stand and placed it in a safe until its commissioner would come to collect it, then went up to the living area of his shop, to bed.

OoC: Just a reminder there's a mask maker in Ta-Koro.

Edited April 23 by ARROW404