Inside

[Keeper]

Teacup Street

Jace follows along as part of the conversation not really worrying about it.
”Well it can be for some I’m sure, but it’s not quite a matter for potions. I admit that I only look like this because someone called me a mother repeatedly enough to influence me. But my mind is steeled and I won’t fall for that again.” See he can talk about Kit all he wants and nothing has happened to him.

[quillpleasant]

[To Lore & Game]

"Oh, uh... you really think so?" Micah asks bashfully. Maybe there was more to his brother's sayings than he gave him credit for...

The Duel Disk recognises its owner's Duel Monster being ordered around by a voice that is decidedly not its owner's, and responds by having the holographic demon simply stare bemusedly down at the young girl raising her sword against it. A smattering of laughter can be heard from some of the older students who already know exactly what's going on here.

"W-Wait, it's not a real monster, Octavia!" Micah blurts out in a panicked voice as he raises his hands in a 'calm down' gesture.

"And, even if it was, it won't do anything unless I command it to! Watch: Archfiend's Awakening, switch to defense mode!" Immediately after Micah says this, the monster gets down on one knee in front of Micah and crosses its arms in front of its chest as if about to block an attack. Its entire body becomes a muted shade of blue, signifying the change to defense position. "See?"

Octavia pauses doubtfully, unsure whether to take Micah's word for it. But upon seeing the demon obey his command without question, she relaxes. A flick of her wrist dismisses her sword into light, which reforms into her usual video camera.

-ah, i'm sorry! i didn't realize that you were in control of the beast- She laughs, more in relief than anything else, a sound like bells ringing. -you must think me awfully silly for being so jumpy-

Stepping forward, she zooms in on the demon's face. -this is very impressive. you say it's not real, but can it affect the real world? or is it only to be used in the game?-

[Rebonack]

[Teacup Street]

"Then you learned a valuable lesson! That's still good, right?" Juibi asks as she considers a nearby building for a few moments before scrambling up the wall like an oversized tree frog. "It was nice talking to you mister Vallarm! I hope you have a nice day furniture shopping. I'm going to get back to my bouncing practice."

It's very important bouncing practice, you see.

Off she goes!

Goodness.

Is Jace actually going to be able to do a thing without something strange happening?

[Shadowcaller]

[Draco Street Bakery]

Is a wyrm a...

Hmm.

That' a good question!

Lex has to think about that one.

"Mostly people use the word wyrm for dragons that are really big and powerful; not cute little guys like me," Lex replies. "I was just making a joke. Maybe not a very good one."

After all, Ambrosia didn't laugh. Neither did Rowan.

They can't all be winners, right?

"I think dragon and wyrm are just different words for the same thing from different languages? I'm pretty sure 'wyrm' is the Dwarven word and 'dragon' is the Mannish one," Lex recalls. Then he gives a little laugh when the subject of physical activities and academics come up. "I'm in PREP's 'Cursed Hero' program; I do lots of both. You need strength AND smarts if you're going to explore delves."

Some people would disagree with that assessment but Lex prefers a balanced approach. He isn't the smartest or the strongest or the most nimble, but he's got a strong mix of all three.

[Destiny Temple]

As Hiep feels her mind buckle under the strain, she does the only thing she can think of, which is defense via offense. She charges, leaping into the air and trying to crash into the approaching figure in a flying kick capable of breaking down a wall.

Draco Street Bakery

Rowan seems unsure what Ambrosia means by her question.
"Physical activities? Like sports? I'm uh, not really built for it. And I wouldn't say I'm academic. I could never afford to go to college." He seems a bit sad about that.
"Simon's my boyfriend. He's from a different world and is under some sort of dragon curse. He came to the Nexus when a dragon ate him but instead he wound up here with her face. Eesha is the salamander you might have seen in the back."

[Draco Street Bakery]

"I meant more things like flying, using your breath weapon and other dragon-related activities." Ambrosia attempts to clarify as she makes a note of what Lex told her about the word wyrm. "Trying to determine if you've noticed any mental influence from your change beyond the desire to bake more."

She looks back to Lex. "So you started at PREP after you transformed then? Or were you already going there?" Since it had sounded like he was working as an alchemist. Perhaps he had to quit after getting transformed?

[Destiny Temple]

Hiep charges and a moment later there's a collision in the darkness.
She already knew that the figure was large but as she collides with it she gets the sense they must be at least seven feet tall and covered in scales.
The impact must be felt through both of them though as the soothing hiss turns shrill before Hiep comes down landing on top of the figure.
The probing sensation in her head is suddenly gone but she might not get to enjoy for long as her opponents jaws unhinge and comes at her like a striking snake. Attempting to bury them in her shoulders.

[Ironsmith]

[Streets (of Arcane Rage)]

Raheeda really felt like she should start writing some of this down as she listens intently to Jubilee's rant.

Scepter (stick?), pair of tits (pretty sure this meant milkers), dissociating (???), amiable (good?), authorize (???).
So many new words.
As she then starts talking about what seems like the lack of sex Raheeda felt the urge to ask something about the community sex but she felt that wouldn't go over well. She already knew that humans she had met so far didn't practice that and even if they did it probably wouldn't work with the marriage thing.

Except if you broke the rules like their quest giver had done of course.

"Yeah, uh, he doesn't sound very good." She can only agree after the rant finishes up. She had glanced at Harley at one point during the storm of words and his visible reaction had confirmed it.
Their quest giver had broken the human laws a lot and was one bad human dude.
"I could kick him in the dick if you want?" Raheeda nervously inquires as according to Arinema it was a suitable punishment for someone like him.

Streets (Of Arcane Rage)

Harley is only getting more furious as the tale continues. This is beyond normal awfulness into the absurd. The cheating is bad enough, but the callous disregard of those he hurt combined with the mental and magical manipulation? That's just disgusting. Even on Harley's worst days, he would never have done stuff like this.

He's silent for a moment after Jubi finishes, then smiles. It's not a nice smile. "My thanks for your permission. I'll make sure you never have to worry about him again."

Raheeda's question make him exhale a laugh through his teeth. "Yeah, that's a good start, but I'll be doing more than that. Where did he say to find him again, Trog's?"

[Streets (of Arcane Rage)]

"Your funeral." Jubilee shrugs, hefting the scythe on her shoulder. "He may be scum of the earth, but he's called the Onyx King for a reason, and that reason is not just his inordinate fascination with his balls."

The smoothed and polished seeing-stone the man had with him during Raheeda's visit fits that description, she might recall.

"When I left him, he was a master of three of the Aspects of Fate; Calamity, Prosperity, and Stasis. Crossing him directly is a quick and certain way to learn how dangerous a combination those can be." Jubilee frowns. "If you really want to give him a bloody nose for making you have an honest five-minute conversation with his ex-wife, I'm not going to stop you. But it probably wouldn't be the best use of your remaining time on this earth."

[Rebonack]

[Drako Street Bakery]

"I might have those backwards. Which is Mannish and which is Dwarfish," Lex, who is definitely NOT a linguist, comments. "But no, I've been going to PREP ever since a TERRIBLE DOOM befell my home town. It's been a couple years. But I've always been a cursed hero. A slime dragon egg waiting to hatch. Alchemy was just one of the classes I took! Heroes would be boring if they ALL used giant swords, right?"

Can you even imagine how much Cora would disapprove of such a world?

"Oh! I have DEFINITELY been learning to fly!" Lex says, giving his wings a flap and kicking up a little breeze. "Mostly just crashing and gliding so far but I'm getting better!"

[Shadowcaller]

[Streets (of Arcane Rage)]

Raheeda gives Harley a concerned glance at this point. "Ehh... yeah, we're not actually planning to hurt him, right? Since while I understand that marriage crimes are terrible to humans but..."
She gestures at Jubilee. "I mean, she didn't ask us to do it. So it probably isn't worth it. Sand over the dune and all that." The yuan-ti makes a flat-handed gesture over her shoulder.
She couldn't help but to wonder if breaking marriage was also a terrible bun-crime. Did buns even have marriages?

[[brackets lover]]

[Rooftop]

The black suit turned to meet Eddie face-to-face, giving him a cold stare. "Did you come here alone? Anyone follow you?" he asks curtly, offering not a single meaningless word or sound.

[Real Arcade]

Asami grits her teeth and dashes at the goblin, slashing wildly. In retaliation, it swings its club down on her, pushing back on her chest. "Oof!" she interjects, instinctively stepping back and rebalancing herself against the vibration caused by the haptic suit. The goblin had about a quarter of its health reduced with Asami's health dropping to a similar threshold.

[Keeper]

Teacup Street

"Oh, well. Good luck with the uh, bouncing."
Yeah that one is odd even for him.
The unicorn keeps going. He really didn't have a destination in mind or anything, so he'll just keep going forward today.

Draco Street Bakery

It takes a bit to get what Ambrosia is getting at. Rowan thought she was asking if he exercised more because places don't accommodate dragons, but no, she seemed to be asking if he got the usual impulses since his baking is clearly something more specific to him and not dragons specifically.
"Well, I don't really like flying. I look really dumb with my wings so undersized." he admits, flapping them for effect. Though that sounds like they still work, doesn't it?
"But I admit I got to really go crazy with my fire when I was with Lex and that felt pretty good. And I admit I got used to not wearing pants faster than most people around me got used to me not having them." Poor Frank. A dragon just has to let his legs and tail breathe. It's not weird!
"Um, I sleep on a pretty dragony bed of stuff. I've been changing out the little glass things for proper baubles." Lex's little adventure did provide him with a few.

[quillpleasant]

Streets (Of Arcane Rage)

"I was planning on hurting him, yes," says Harley brusquely, "It's not the cheating, it's the fact that he warped people against their will, and used his power to manipulate and hurt those who couldn't resist him." He doesn't clarify that he was planning on doing it alone as well- no need for Raheeda to see that side of him.

But clearly it's not going to be that easy, and he thumps his foot angrily against the earth. "It's all moot anyway- if he's as strong as you say he is, then there's nothing I can do because of this stupid mask. Nothing like a monster who's completely untouchable." After a moment of internal struggle, Harley rubs the back of his neck and sighs.

"Well, I guess we'll just feed him some lie about you being on a different world and leave it at that. Thanks for telling us- and my apologies that I couldn't do more." He inclines his head respectfully then steps back.

[Ironsmith]

[Streets]

"...Yeah, well, if I wanted to hurt him, I wouldn't be sending a pair of proxies to do it anyway." Jubilee notes, lowering her scythe into a more comfortable leaning position. "The man's carved out his own personal hell and I've got no intention of letting him get out of it by killing him. Let him go home to that damned kingdom he was so intent on creating, and let it crumble while time makes him a prisoner in his own body." She gives a devilish little smirk. "You know the saying... 'living well is the best revenge'. And I'm living very well these days, especially compared to him."

She snaps her fingers at the carriage behind her, and one of the dullahans hops down and pops open the carriage door for her, waiting for her to climb in before closing it behind her.

"Oh, and one more thing." Jubilee adds, leaning out the glassless window. "If either of you lied to me about what you intend to tell my ex-husband, I'll find out sooner rather than later. And I'm not an especially big fan of liars." She gives them a single wave as the carriage starts forward. "Ta."

[Shadowcaller]

[Streets]

"Sure, but you can't take it upon yourself to punish all the bad people. Helping out is easy, punishing? Really hard." Frankly, all this revenge stuff was making her uncomfortable. She understood Jubilee's spite yet it was still hard hearing her talk about it.

Raheeda had never heard anyone talk with so much resentment for someone else before, not while using such fancy words at least.

She had to agree though, Jubilee did seem to live pretty luxuriously at least. Did seem like her servants had all lost their heads at some point though-

The yuan-ti glances at the scythe.

Were those things related? No, surely not.
...right?

"Uh, you can count on us. My friend call me the worst liar ever so I don't think I'd be even capable of lying to you, miss lady."
And then she was off.
Raheeda turns to Harley once they watched the carriage disappeared. "So I guess we go back to trog's now. I just can't believe that the old man I met was such a bad person. Really takes the spring out of your step, doesn't it?"

Draco Street Bakery

Ambrosia turns to Lex. "What about you, Lex? Do you have the urge to sleep on a hoard of some kind or to use your breath weapon? I do apologize if I'm coming off as callous with these questions but it seems like you managed to recover from your hometowns fate enough to talk about it in such a casual manner."

She pauses for a moment to look over her notes.
They gave her an idea.

"But while we're at it, what are your perspective of one another? Do you think of the other more as a dragon or another person that just happens to look like a dragon?"

[TeChameleon]

[Rooftop]

"I came here alone. And there was no indication that secrecy was required in the information I received, nor any sign that I could expect potential tails. But there weren't any obvious followers when I circled the block before I entered, and nobody came into the building after me."

If Eddie was the slightest bit perturbed by the black-suited official's clipped tone, there was no indication of it in his body language- his face, as was his habit when he was out and about, was almost completely hidden by his hood.

[Earl of Purple]

Real Arcade

"Taiyo! Be careful, block or dodge! The game doesn't know how sturdy you are!" Agate's seen pretty impressive things from Asami, in hunting class especially. And she doesn't want Asami to get frustrated because her avatar's killed from something that Asami thinks she'd be able to survive in real life.

Agate also draws another arrow and kisses the head of it before she pulls the string back and shoots it, aimed once more at the goblin king's head.

[Morty]

[Destiny Temple]

Hiep isn't quick enough to avoid the teeth, but she continues to pummel the mysterious figure. Maybe she can still punch her way out of this.

[Hoshiki's home]

The berk rents out rooms? Why- actually, that makes some sense. He's got a big house and he lives by himself, might as well get some use out of the rest. He's off the hook for this one.

"I'm not lookin' for a room. When you see him, tell him detective Michalson Barring was 'ere and that he has something he needs to see. Somethin' from his past. That should be enough, I hope."

[quillpleasant]

Streets (Of Arcane Rage)

Harley hesitates, looking like he's going to argue with Raheeda's declaration on punishment. Then he sighs, and all the anger seems to leave him at once.

"Right you are. Helping people is a much worthier goal. It's not our job to mete out justice." And Jubilee makes a good point anyway- there's nothing that could be done to such a person worse than having to live with himself.

"I'm reformed, I don't lie anymore. Fast travels!" He waves as the carriage speeds off. She seemed cool, but quite intimidating. Harley's glad she didn't decide to try anything with that scythe.

He nods solemnly at Raheeda. "Yeah, sometimes the worst of us hide their true nature well. But hey, not every quest can have a happy ending. I'm sure next time will be better." He rubs his hands together. "Okay so, when we find him, let me do most of the talking. I'll tell him we ran into Tahara, and she said that Jubi was in the Nexus, but has since moved on to a different world, and she doesn't know which one. Hopefully he'll buy it, and it'll throw him off the trail for a while at least. And then we move on."

What was he saying about lying earlier? Well, this is for a good cause, it doesn't count.

[Shadowcaller]

[Destiny Temple]

Hiep's punches hit hard, and despite her opponents size advantage they're not taking them particularly well.

But fortunately for them the moment the exalted is injected with the venom the world around her starts to blur. The world starting to feel increasingly dream-like.

And like a dream any sort of logic coherence quickly starts to fade, what she's doing right getting muddled with similar events in the past. Which when she hears Selestrah's voice again. "Wake up, Hiep. You must have fallen asleep during the massage."

Had she? It suddenly sounded increasingly possible as her memories go back to the massage chair. She had felt sleepy and... she had fallen asleep. But she had waken up again, right? Unless of course this was the dream.

Streets (Of Arcane Rage)

"Yeah, I'd suck at justice. Don't ever wanna do it." Raheeda freely admits as she returns his nod. Never once in her life having wanted to take a difficult moral decision. Despite having taken many without even realizing it.

Then she turns to wave off the carriage, wondering how those headless people were able to drive without their head. She knew skeletons didn't have eyes either but at least they usually had heads. Oh well, it wasn't like magic had to make sense all the time.

But her thoughts regarding the headless are interrupted as Harley goes into the debate of what to actually tell their quest-giving. "Uh, well, maybe we can also tell him that she left a message that she didn't want to see him and to stop following her for all those reasons she mentioned? Then at least he'll know that we know that he's not very nice. Just so he won't try to rope us into anything else."

[Rebonack]

[Draco Street Bakery]

"I've got a stone bathtub sort of thing that I sleep in. I like putting the silver coins I've found in there since the acid shines them up really well," Lex replies brightly. "I don't know if that really counts as a hoard, though. I'm not a dragon expert. But... I do get this kind of restless feeling sometimes? Like there's something I'm supposed to be protecting and I feel kind of bad that I'm not, but I don't know what the something is. Does that make any sense? I've talked to the other Juiblexes and we've all got the same feeling."

Does that mean he's a guardian dragon rather than a hoarding dragon?

Maybe!

Lex definitely isn't a dragonologist.

"And I've been able to cut loose with my breath weapon a few times! It leaves a giant mess behind, though, so I don't really do it unless I really have to. It's this... really slippery acid slick. It's funny using it on monsters and watching them face-planting everywhere, though. And my town? That happened five years ago when I was eleven. I know I'm not that old yet, but it feels like a long time. I-"

The dragon makes a somewhat pensive look here.

"I know I felt worse about it before I hatched. But it's hard to feel bad or sad about anything now. I have to try really hard but even if I do it doesn't stick for long."

Probably that slime attitude again. Bounce back!

At the question of what is a dragon REALLY Lex glances over at Rowan.

"...I don't know? I haven't really thought about it. I know the wizards have RULES for what does and doesn't count as a TRUE dragon but I don't know if that really matters. If Rowan says he's a dragon then that's good enough for me! It's not like he's just a human with funny colored hair insisting that he's REALLY a dragon but you just can't see it."

[quillpleasant]

Streets (Of Arcane Rage)

Harley doesn't say anything to Raheeda's declaration about avoiding justice, but he does smile fondly. Despite her insistence that she'd be bad at it, she's consistently steered him to be a better person since he first arrived. Maybe that's how morality works- the most moral never consider themselves to be so.

"Yeah, that's actually a really good point. We should definitely tell him she said to stop- I doubt he'll give up, but hopefully it'll at least discourage him." Harley nods decisively- it's a good plan!

Now to find their way to Trog's. Luckily, Harley does remember how they got here. Finding a place you've already been is a lot easier than finding somewhere new. Giving one last glance at the departing carriage, he starts to lead the way to the inn, already falling into a nice soft bed. After dealing with the stupid king, of course.

[Keeper]

Draco Street Bakery

Rowan isn't sure what to say about Ambrosia's question.
"Well I mean. A dragon is just a creature or a person who happens to have certain biological or thematic traits. I don't really see the difference between the two options. Why, what do you think?"
Ambrosia has dragon horns after all. And being around dragons all the time, he feels she's got that vibe more than Just Random Horned Human.

[quillpleasant]

Cry Havoc (Open)

It's a normal winter day in Inside. The sun is shining, there's blue skies above, and the people are going about their day perhaps only a little shaken from that horrible snake storm the other night. But luckily, there's usually enough time between crises to recover, rebuild, and maybe get some therapy for the PTSD that surely results from constant threat to life and limb.

But not today. Today is going to get bad very quickly.

The first and only warning is when a manhole covering in the street suddenly launches into the air with a loud clang. As it comes crashing down a dozen feet away, a pair of arms grabs the rim of the hole and someone clambers up from below, followed quickly by several others.

The first one up is a woman dressed in a gray jumpsuit. The top half has been torn away, revealing a grimy white tanktop underneath. She looks to be elven, with short black hair, glittering green eyes and gold tanned skin. These features might escape attention due to a more pressing quality- the area between her neck and left shoulder is split by a huge, jagged mouth, serrated teeth grinding against each other. It extends out of view beneath her top, and at the sight of the onlookers it gurgles and hisses hungrily.

Behind her slither two nightmarish beasts. They look like giant rats that have been stretched out to some ten feet in length, with dozens of tangled limbs that move them in an undulating, sinuous fashion. These rodentipedes certainly don't look intelligent, but their gleaming incisors certainly make them dangerous.

Next, another elf hauls himself up onto the street, dressed similarly to the first. Or at least, probably an elf, judging by his ears. The upper half of his face is covered in a shiny metal plate cap, with no eyes or hair visible. Below the mask, his teeth are long and sharp, stained yellow and bloody. His skin has a look of rot and decay to it, like a sun baked corpse. His movements are erratic, stumbling around almost as if drunk- or blind.

And then the ground around the hole cracks as something huge forces its way out, bringing with it a burst of dazzling white light. The radiance fades as a behemoth staggers to its feet. Huge, glowing angelic wings sprout from the back of a hulking humanoid form with alabaster skin, implanted with various cybernetic enhancements. One of its arms ends in a fist big enough to crush a human skull, while the other has a glowing plasma cannon fused to it. The being's head is its strangest part- it resembles nothing so much as an elephant, with mad rolling eyes and tusks that crackle with electric energy.

Most people on the street have already started running at this point, although a few confused or brave souls hide behind cars or doorways, peering out at the motley group. The elven woman surveys the street with an expression of contempt.
"Scared little rabbits. Too stupid to look up, unaware of the rot that festers above. Disgusting." Her voice is hoarse and low, like a heavy smoker. "Feast, my friends."

The others were waiting for this command. The rodentipedes slither forward at lightning speed, while the metal masked elf drops to all fours and charges at a nearby businessman. The elephangel raises its arm cannon and sends a crackling burst of energy flying down the street, the ensuing explosion sending shrapnel flying through the air. As the remaining people in the area scream and run, the woman smiles, and her shoulder mouth slobbers with eagerness at the coming slaughter.

Hopefully there's some people here to stop the massacre.

[Shadowcaller]

Draco Street Bakery

Guarding and hoarding could be similar or completely distinct behaviors depending on the context. Though usually guarding dragons weren't sapient to the degree Lex was which was curious in itself. Usually guarding dragons were made to guard locations by some sort of master rather than seeking it out themselves. This in turn meant they usually stayed within the confines of the dungeon and were in that sense hermits. Not allowing anything or anyone get close.

This was completely different from how Lex behaved, being gregarious and extroverted to an extend most dragons weren't. So she couldn't help but to wonder if this behavior would change if he found something he wanted to guard. Since she imagined it would be difficult to guard something while also trying to be sociable. Unless the location was somewhere very centralized she supposed but then what would he be guarding exactly? Since wasn't guarding about keeping people away?

Since it did sound like the personable behavior had at least in part come through his transformation yet the two attitudes didn't seem to really go together at a first glance.

Ambrosia notes these thoughts down as Lex talks. There were questions she could ask but Rowan seemed to have one from her too which she felt she should answer for the both of them.

"I was more curious what you thought constituted a dragon than anything else." She explains to Rowan.

"As in, do you feel like a dragon? Since in the nexus the definitions of what actually is one blurs together until it the question becomes more of a philosophical one. Now, I have my own definition of a dragon but its very broad at this point. When you come across dragon that are made up of the night sky or coral biological traits start."

She gestures to the big blue dragon. "So that's where your 'thematic' traits become more relevant as those are the ones I usually go for. But there are also what I like to call 'social' dragons. As in, non-dragons calling themselves dragons for a number of reasons. Those I usually don't include."

The scholar looks between them. "Does that explain it? Or do you perhaps have more questions for me?"

Cry Havoc (Open)

Raheeda had gotten herself more familiar with the concept of "sewers" ever since her trip to Riverside. It was pretty unbelievable what people had to do just to be able to stay at the same place their entire lives. Making entire dungeons underneath their cities which was filled with nothing but their poop.

Which was honestly one of the scariest types of dungeons she had ever heard of. Like, where did all that poop actually go? It couldn't just disappear. She had a theory that the garbage witches were somehow involved. Perhaps they used the poop to fuel their spells, animating armies of poop golems to defend the city if it was attacked or something like that.

She imagined that their stench alone could probably scare away all the the most staunchest of invading armies. All through the power of poop.
But as much she liked to consider these ideas she wasn't too keen on investigating them. Her last trip to the sewers hadn't ended particularly well and unlike the people she imagined lived in cities, she could actually taste smell pretty well and it was frankly disgusting.

Just as disgusting as the stench she could taste right now which evoked all these thoughts.

What was that? She knew cities smelled awful but this was beyond the usual city stank. Not only that it was also mixed with... blood?
She peers around a corner only to see a battle.

Her eyes widens.
There wasn't supposed to be a battle in a city!
Where were those poop golems defending their pooping people?

Then as she looked around she spotted the source of the stench. The open human hole!

Wandering right out into the scene she will casually attempt to reach the open man hole so she can put the cover right back on.

[Morty]

[Cry Havoc (Open)]

Wenomir should have known that if he headed into Inside without backup, something would happen. The Nexus seems to work this way. At least it doesn't look like something he can't handle on his own before backup arrives.

The masked elf might find his elbows pierced by adamantine daggers, right before a blur of motion sweeps past him, the Vigil commander scarcely visible as he tries to cut off his head. He'll come to a stop past the elf, regarding the battlefield and the results of his attack. His sword, though mundane to the naked eye, is fully able to shear through metal like it's paper.

[bc56]

Cry Havoc
The attacking mutants will be met with a "STOP."
A lizardman holding an axe and shield steps out in front of them. He sizes up the angelephant. "These people have my protection. You not harm them." Red and white fire blazes to life around his axe. "You are mockery of holy warriors. I crush you in goddess's name!" He charges the angelephant and leaps up to attempt to shoulder-check it into the ground; his strength is far beyond natural for someone his size.

[[brackets lover]]

[A Real Arcade]

Asami raises an eyebrow at Agate, replying sheepishly, "Pssh... I would've figured that out soon enough."

In the time it took them to talk, the goblin swung again, Asami attempting to bring her sword up to it in response. The club is comedically swung out of the goblin's hands in a physically impossible way, stars circling above the goblin as it stumbles helplessly. Coincidentally, the arrow has bright sparks and a whip-like noise upon making contact with the goblin's head, dealing a great deal more damage and nearly killing it.

[Rooftop]

The black suit nods his head at Eddie. Suddenly, he lowers himself to the ground and sits crisscross applesauce. He pulls two sketches out of some pocket, laying them down on the ground: A grey-furred bunny-earred creature smaller than a human toddler with a red pom-pom atop its head. Another sketch showed it wearing a cloak covering its face.

"2-foot tall mammal, male, middle-aged," explains the man bluntly, "This individual has been connected to numerous counts of racketeering, theft, arson, destruction of property, fraud, treason, sexual harrassment but he's been cleared of that by his legal team through some unholy twist of fate. His crime spree has raged on for over ten years now. Think you can stop him?"

[TeChameleon]

[Rooftop]

The red hood concealing Eddie's head moved a little as the small golem tilted his head, looking at the pictures, then raised again as he met the suit's eyes. From the angle where he sat, the suit might be able to see the golem's faintly glowing eyes- green today, for whatever reason.

"Depends on how you define 'stop'." Eddie said after a moment. "I'm not about to just storm off to wherever and murder this being on your say-so, if you will forgive my bluntness. I am assuming you have a dossier that is a little more complete than two sketches, height, gender, approximate age, list of charges, and the fact that he is of the Class Mammalia? I mean, it's a little more specific than that he is of the Kingdom Animalia, but not enough to be terribly helpful."

The little golem's absolute stillness might unnerve the suit slightly, if he was the type to take note of that sort of thing. No breathing, no shifting his weight, none of the minor noises all living bodies made as they operated. Eddie might look incredibly lifelike, to the point of his features mimicking the movement of facial muscles as he changed expression, but he definitely wasn't alive, at least in the biological sense.

"Some credentials on your part would not go amiss," Eddie continued, gesturing at the suit, "along with some indication of what you actually expect me to do. I am assuming that, given the call you put out requesting 'heroes', that this... whoever, whatever it is (telling me his name, and maybe his actual species, might not be a bad start either)... has some form of extra-normal capability, be it superhuman (or super-whatever) abilities, some higher order of combative magic, or some other, more esoteric strength."

"While I am able to handle myself in a fight, and am extremely difficult to damage, much less injure, I need more to go on before I am willing to accept this quest." he finished.

[[brackets lover]]

[Rooftop]

The black suit pulls out a map and sprawls it out over the ground, pointing to a specific location: Inside Nation Bank. "I want you to apply for a security job here. Failure is not an option."

He hastily takes the map and sketches and rips them up, rapidly shoving them into his mouth before swallowing them. He then puts on a harness, jumping off the side of the building and out of Eddie's sight.

Standing alone on the rooftop, Eddie's left unable to gather any further information on the case, the agency being so tight-lipped as to be virtually impossible to investigate and the perp being equally elusive. Except for when he isn't. He did give his real name to a teenager.

[quillpleasant]

Cry Havoc

Raheeda will find that the manhole cover, while large and heavy, is totally liftable. If she rolls it, that'll make it even easier to move. But as she approaches the sewer hole, she'll discover something potentially tragic.

The emergence of the angelephant has torn up the street! Even if the cover is replaced, there will still be large cracks around it. Which means the horrible sewer smell cannot be contained!

Watching Raheeda as she discovers this calamity is the woman with the shoulder mouth. She actually looks rather amused by the yuan ti.

"Ha... little late for that, don't you think?" She grins, then gestures dismissively. "Kill her."

The two rodentipedes swivel around at the command and streak forward, crossing the distance to Raheeda in moments. One circles behind her while the other strikes at her legs, vicious hooked teeth whipping through the air like a cobra.

Across the street, Wenomir's sudden attack catches the helmed elf off guard. The daggers tear through his arms like wet paper before the swordsman streaks past. A moment later the elf's head topples forward onto the street in a spray of tarry blood. The businessman he had been chasing wastes no time in making a dash for the nearest alley.

Then the elf's body collapses into a pool of shadow, the knives clattering to the ground. The shadow seems to bleed into nothing- only to reform on the wall behind Wenomir. A moment later the elf is springing out in a pounce, fully reformed. He's not as fast as the swordsman, but the odd angle might be unexpected, and if he connects his grip is strong enough to break bones with ease.

The lizardman's battle cry is met with an answering trumpet from the angelephant. His rush carries him crashing against the beast's thick hide, and it stumbles back from the force, heavy feet skidding over the asphalt. Up close, he can see that a metallic exoskeleton has been grafted around its rib cage and back, which is what the wings are attached to.

With a swiftness belying its immensity, the angelephant grabs at his legs, trying to get a hold and toss him away. It's strong enough to toss cars around no problem, so a lizardfolk should be easy. Unless he's not.

[Shadowcaller]

Cry Havoc

Oh no!
That meant she was going to be tasting that awful smell-

In annoyance she suddenly produces a glaive out of nowhere. It's edge burning like furnace, so hot that the air around it seems to twist and bend. Then in the same motion she also throws the smoldering weapon at the woman who just talked about killing her.

Wherever it actually hits her or not she will then make a stabbing motion towards the rodentipedes just as they reach her and just like that its suddenly back in her hand. Practically appearing right inside the creature as the weapon seemingly teleports back to Raheeda's hand.

Yet the momentum of the throw somehow remains intact as it pierces the creature. The weapon moving across the creatures entire length it like a hot knife through a string of butter.

-during the entire battle. Raheeda just couldn't believe people could live with a giant poop dungeon underneath their feet, or worse in one like these creatures. Just-

She spins around and with her other hand she grabs hold of the man hole cover and launches it at the other rodentipede circling her.

-what was wrong with them? Didn't rats also have a good sense of smell? Geez.

"What's wrong with you guys?!" She calls out at her foes.

[TeChameleon]

[Rooftop]

Eddie stared at the space where the government spook had been, dumbfounded.

"Failure to do what, exactly?" he muttered irritably. He sighed, then decided he may as well follow through. If this was like any of the other times he'd gotten mixed up with spooks, the jerk in the suit would reappear once Eddie had done all the work, underpay Eddie (if he was lucky- he had the 'undying gratitude' of about five different nations, and it had never translated to anything tangible, except for a ten-Euro-off coupon that one time) and claim all the credit.

Eddie considered stepping off the building as well, but figured there wasn't any real hurry and he didn't want to chance ruining his clothes.

After a short trip through the building, Eddie emerged onto the street, and then stood there for a moment. He really wasn't that familiar with the city yet, although even the brief glimpse he'd gotten of the map was enough to give him a pretty good idea of the shape of that part of the city, at least. He set out, wondering why the spook had bothered to eat what looked like a bog-standard city map, even if a bank was marked on it.

If the spook had actually bothered to set things up ahead of time, so that Eddie was sure to get the needed job, then at least Eddie was going to see some entertaining mental gymnastics as the hiring manager or whoever tried to justify to themselves or their superiours why, exactly, they were hiring a small child for security work.