[Hog Heaven]
Tsumi does her best to keep pace with Dena. It becomes challenging in no time at all, the swiftness of the gorgon's legs and hips putting most others in the room to shame. Still, they try. They take up Dena's dance or chart their own to the tune, some fitting and some not. The patrons cheer along with Dena when she reaches out to the crowd or performs a particularly thrilling series of motions.
For most of her 'solo act', Tsumi is following Dena right along, hands on her hips, laughing as Dena teases her, the crowd, or both. Tsumi has good footwork for someone so large - she tries to match each turn, step and spin. The gleam of sweat shows glossily on her before long.
Then, finally, with another attention-grabbing shake of her hips, Dena takes Tsumi's hands. Tsumi laughs lightly as she's pulled into the paired dance. Back and forth along the bar they go, movements in sync, galvanized by the cheers of the onlookers below.
When Dena presses in her hips and grabs Tsumi's butt, the oni only hesitates for a shocked second. Oh, right, she was trying to give her directions. Her face goes from briefly stunned to a wide, blushing grin, and she mimics the gorgon as best she can. For a moment, they're moving in sync, not leading and being led but working as one... then another chorus passes through and they're on to the next part of the dance.
The bargoers try to give Dena space as she takes Tsumi off the bar and into the final part of her dance. The ogress follows Dena's rocking hips, draws close again when the gorgon directs, moves with flow and the right points of emphasis. By the time they're into the last sequence she's really got it. The two of them look far too good together to be a fitting pair for this place.
Then suddenly the song is over, and Dena parts from her. Tsumi is left swaying there a moment, all while the bar around them devolves into quite a chaotic dancing mess and the large jukebox launches into another number from a catalog of French dancing tunes. The floor around them is still somewhat clear, but more than one person hollers that they'd like to buy Dena a drink (or just whistles). "Wow! You're--" Tsumi laughs, reaching up to rub her neck, working it this way and that. That really got her moving in ways that she hasn't for quite some time. "You weren't even trying, were you? You're like an angel. Lady..." She grins and shakes her head, making her short braid sway. Her eyes take on a hooded, satisfied quality, and she can only try to match Dena's smugness. "I don't normally let even angels grab me like that on the first date. Where'd you learn to dance like that, huh?"
Outside: Grass touch place
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
The Triple B
Lydia hops up to her feet and takes the question seriously, pacing around Anri while sipping her drink. She seems to have an eye for appraisal and makes many different hrm noises before stopping and poking at the wings a bit. "...just how big can you go? Or small. Depending on the answer, that opens up an entire world of possibilities. Though it also brings up another question. Why don't you turn back into your original shape? The one before all the curses and wishes and such."
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
The Triple B
Anri blinks.
"Um. I've...never actually tried to go for anything not human-ish sized. I might need someone's wish to go really nutty. Maybe it's because of my frame of reference?"
Plenty of djinn have stories about quite unlimited shapeshifting. It's possible Anri doesn't have any limits and she's simply never realized it. She just needed a wish from Lydia to get her groove back.
"Oh. Well, after spending a few years on spider legs I guess I just sort of...find it boring? Or maybe I'm not comfortable on human feet anymore. Or perhaps it's just my nature. I'm told my ancestor had at least a hundred different guises. Apparently she had trouble settling on any of them for very long."
Anri blinks.
"Um. I've...never actually tried to go for anything not human-ish sized. I might need someone's wish to go really nutty. Maybe it's because of my frame of reference?"
Plenty of djinn have stories about quite unlimited shapeshifting. It's possible Anri doesn't have any limits and she's simply never realized it. She just needed a wish from Lydia to get her groove back.
"Oh. Well, after spending a few years on spider legs I guess I just sort of...find it boring? Or maybe I'm not comfortable on human feet anymore. Or perhaps it's just my nature. I'm told my ancestor had at least a hundred different guises. Apparently she had trouble settling on any of them for very long."
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Tower of Oujet]
Saint Lazarus tries her hardest not to sigh in exasperation. She left the elf alone for like ten seconds. For less than a minute! All she had to do was push a big pylon and then report back. Saint Lazarus would've been happy to look at the 'puzzle' stuff, to handle the thinking for her. It should've been impossible to find trouble and chaos and magical marble murder machines in such a short time, and yet...here we are.
"Press the button, Anika! That one, there!" she points, before standing back up and twirling her big sword in her hands. She knows from something she read long ago that gold is one of the softer metals, but is it soft enough to crumple against her blade? Can crude steel rend the limbs of tastefully-sculpted ancient artisan automatons? Well...she guesses we'll find out soon enough. With zweihander held high, she times her sprint to coincide with the path of the killer robots, to flank them and bring her blade down on a golem's limbs just as Anika runs past and the constructs reach the bottom of the staircase.
► SHOW SPOILER
"Press the button, Anika! That one, there!" she points, before standing back up and twirling her big sword in her hands. She knows from something she read long ago that gold is one of the softer metals, but is it soft enough to crumple against her blade? Can crude steel rend the limbs of tastefully-sculpted ancient artisan automatons? Well...she guesses we'll find out soon enough. With zweihander held high, she times her sprint to coincide with the path of the killer robots, to flank them and bring her blade down on a golem's limbs just as Anika runs past and the constructs reach the bottom of the staircase.
"You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
-Daniel H. Wilson
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[A Completely Innocuous Picnicking Area]
You know the sort. One of those grassy rest stop sorts of areas, festooned with tables, free-standing grills, and signs displaying educational information about the area. There are some bathrooms nearby, a squat brown building of the sort one might encounter at a rest stop or park. Not an Inside sort of park, mind. A bathroom at an Inside park would probably be full of ghosts or monsters or something. The most horrific thing in these bathrooms might be an overly large moth or a dearth of toilet paper.
More than a few families are gathered here, but they're mostly the sort that are just passing through. A quick pit stop to stretch the legs before moving on. A place of liminality. People didn't usually come here to come here. They came here because they were going somewhere else.
But one person? One person came here. She keeps coming here. She keeps coming back. There's just something about this place that resonates with her. It was true four years ago. And it's still true today.
A totally normal human teen clad in her PREP uniform approaches the table, a paper bag clutched in her hands. She hops up onto the bench and fishes out half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Mister Nutters Junior is already scampering down a tree in that jerky, start and stop way that squirrels do.
"Hi Junior," Khannie calls out as she begins peeling the crusts off her sandwich. She doesn't really like them, but she always leaves them on because Mister Nutters likes them. She isn't really sure if Mister Nutters is a mister or not, but that probably doesn't matter any. There used to be another older Mister Nutters but it turns out that squirrels don't live very long. A few crusts are tossed on the cement for the squirrel. She eats half the sandwich, then hops down, walking along the well worn trail past the big sign that talks about different sorts of birds. Khannie holds her hands out to either side as she walks, feeling her fingers rustling against the dry grass and listening to the bugs droning at each other. She smiles at the crisp scents of approaching winter. They're nice. They mean Thanksmas is getting close.
Three granite pillars loom before her, their surfaces pock-marked with little craters. There used to be three, years ago. But that one is shattered and toppled over thanks to Khannie's visits. The stream is just behind them, lined with great big alder trees, their yellowing leaves swaying in the breeze. The sun is shining. The birds are signing. What a beautiful day for a girl like her to be punching some rocks.
Khannie drops her lunch bag atop a smooth stone and retries some hand-wraps from them. She winds the bandages around her knuckles, briefly centers herself, and then yells.
"Yreeeaaagh!"
CRACK!
Again.
And again.
And again and again and again until she loses track of time.
Chips of stone shudder off the monolith as she pulls her fist back, a little bit of red showing through the bandages. It hurts, but its a good sort of hurt. She slumps against the implacable stone, reaches into her bag, and retrieves the other half of her sandwich.
The second half always tastes so much sweeter.
You know the sort. One of those grassy rest stop sorts of areas, festooned with tables, free-standing grills, and signs displaying educational information about the area. There are some bathrooms nearby, a squat brown building of the sort one might encounter at a rest stop or park. Not an Inside sort of park, mind. A bathroom at an Inside park would probably be full of ghosts or monsters or something. The most horrific thing in these bathrooms might be an overly large moth or a dearth of toilet paper.
More than a few families are gathered here, but they're mostly the sort that are just passing through. A quick pit stop to stretch the legs before moving on. A place of liminality. People didn't usually come here to come here. They came here because they were going somewhere else.
But one person? One person came here. She keeps coming here. She keeps coming back. There's just something about this place that resonates with her. It was true four years ago. And it's still true today.
A totally normal human teen clad in her PREP uniform approaches the table, a paper bag clutched in her hands. She hops up onto the bench and fishes out half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Mister Nutters Junior is already scampering down a tree in that jerky, start and stop way that squirrels do.
"Hi Junior," Khannie calls out as she begins peeling the crusts off her sandwich. She doesn't really like them, but she always leaves them on because Mister Nutters likes them. She isn't really sure if Mister Nutters is a mister or not, but that probably doesn't matter any. There used to be another older Mister Nutters but it turns out that squirrels don't live very long. A few crusts are tossed on the cement for the squirrel. She eats half the sandwich, then hops down, walking along the well worn trail past the big sign that talks about different sorts of birds. Khannie holds her hands out to either side as she walks, feeling her fingers rustling against the dry grass and listening to the bugs droning at each other. She smiles at the crisp scents of approaching winter. They're nice. They mean Thanksmas is getting close.
Three granite pillars loom before her, their surfaces pock-marked with little craters. There used to be three, years ago. But that one is shattered and toppled over thanks to Khannie's visits. The stream is just behind them, lined with great big alder trees, their yellowing leaves swaying in the breeze. The sun is shining. The birds are signing. What a beautiful day for a girl like her to be punching some rocks.
Khannie drops her lunch bag atop a smooth stone and retries some hand-wraps from them. She winds the bandages around her knuckles, briefly centers herself, and then yells.
"Yreeeaaagh!"
CRACK!
Again.
And again.
And again and again and again until she loses track of time.
Chips of stone shudder off the monolith as she pulls her fist back, a little bit of red showing through the bandages. It hurts, but its a good sort of hurt. She slumps against the implacable stone, reaches into her bag, and retrieves the other half of her sandwich.
The second half always tastes so much sweeter.
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bc56
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Picnic Area
"You have great strength," a voice says in hesitant [common]. Soft footfalls betray the approaching person - a lizardman in simple traveling clothes, a double-bladed steel axe decorated with golden flames and a shield inlaid with a silver lightning bolt slung across his back, "But stone not a good sparring partner. It not dodge or hit back."
"You have great strength," a voice says in hesitant [common]. Soft footfalls betray the approaching person - a lizardman in simple traveling clothes, a double-bladed steel axe decorated with golden flames and a shield inlaid with a silver lightning bolt slung across his back, "But stone not a good sparring partner. It not dodge or hit back."
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Picnic Area]
"Uh?" would be the grunting noise Khannie replies with, glancing up with her mouth still full of sandwich.
Last time she had her snack-training-snack-dungeon dive routine interrupted it was by a pointy dog.
This time it's a pointy lizard. Except the lizard is a guy instead of a dog. Since the dog just woofed at her and she gave it some salami from her lunch. Khannie finishes chewing her sandwich and swallows what's left of it.
"Yeah the rocks are just a warmup," Khannie admits as she pulls a roasted pimiento out of her bag and pops it in her mouth. She's immediately greeted by a rich, sweet, and VERY spicy flavor. She absolutely loves the things. "I go out in the woods when I'm done. It's fulla weird robot things that'll over-run the park if no one takes care of 'em. So I do it."
Now, Kothar might not be an expert on humans but he can probably tell this one is just beginning to fill in as an adult. She's beginning to get that sort of shape human females have but she isn't quite all there yet. An adolescent. Kind of strange that she would be talking about 'taking care of' weird robots, but the Nexus is full of weird people.
"Gunna guess you're an adventurer or something? People don't usually wander around with axes and shields unless they're looking for trouble," Khannie observes. She doesn't sound too troubled by this. Probably because, "My dad used to be an adventurer. I'll be as great as he is and these dumb robots are just practice."
Mister Nutters Junior, meanwhile, watches the conversation from his perch atop a nearby branch whilst busy chewing on one of the crust Khannie gave him.
"Uh?" would be the grunting noise Khannie replies with, glancing up with her mouth still full of sandwich.
Last time she had her snack-training-snack-dungeon dive routine interrupted it was by a pointy dog.
This time it's a pointy lizard. Except the lizard is a guy instead of a dog. Since the dog just woofed at her and she gave it some salami from her lunch. Khannie finishes chewing her sandwich and swallows what's left of it.
"Yeah the rocks are just a warmup," Khannie admits as she pulls a roasted pimiento out of her bag and pops it in her mouth. She's immediately greeted by a rich, sweet, and VERY spicy flavor. She absolutely loves the things. "I go out in the woods when I'm done. It's fulla weird robot things that'll over-run the park if no one takes care of 'em. So I do it."
Now, Kothar might not be an expert on humans but he can probably tell this one is just beginning to fill in as an adult. She's beginning to get that sort of shape human females have but she isn't quite all there yet. An adolescent. Kind of strange that she would be talking about 'taking care of' weird robots, but the Nexus is full of weird people.
"Gunna guess you're an adventurer or something? People don't usually wander around with axes and shields unless they're looking for trouble," Khannie observes. She doesn't sound too troubled by this. Probably because, "My dad used to be an adventurer. I'll be as great as he is and these dumb robots are just practice."
Mister Nutters Junior, meanwhile, watches the conversation from his perch atop a nearby branch whilst busy chewing on one of the crust Khannie gave him.
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bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Picnic Area
"A good idea." The lizardman knows nothing about human aging - except that he can make an educated guess based on height and hair color. Not that he really cares about Khannie's age anyway. It's not that important in the grand scheme of things. "Kothar, of the Three," He bows slightly. Of course the name, while relevant to people where he comes from, means nothing here. "I seek not trouble, merely to help." It might be tough for Khannie to gauge the age of a lizard, but he's on the old side for an adventurer - probably middle aged - which means he's good.
"A good idea." The lizardman knows nothing about human aging - except that he can make an educated guess based on height and hair color. Not that he really cares about Khannie's age anyway. It's not that important in the grand scheme of things. "Kothar, of the Three," He bows slightly. Of course the name, while relevant to people where he comes from, means nothing here. "I seek not trouble, merely to help." It might be tough for Khannie to gauge the age of a lizard, but he's on the old side for an adventurer - probably middle aged - which means he's good.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Picnic Area]
Khannie has precious little experience with the arcane art of figuring out what the age of lizard people is.
Either way, she licks her fingers clean and stuffs the little brown bag into her pack before replying with, "I'm Khannie Vallarm. I haven't got any fancy titles or anything."
Come on, Khannie. You've used several super hero names over the years.
Those totally count as fancy titles. Just a different sort of fancy title.
"Helps pretty good! You're a hero, then? That's the best kinda adventurer," she says as she steels herself briefly before hopping over the little creek and tromping off into the forest beyond. "Adventurers though... they do more killing than I like a lot of the time. I think the super hero code is better! Just beating up the bad guys so then the authorities can take 'em away to get a trial. Or fighting robots! Since those aren't people, just machines."
Khannie definitely has some pretty firm convictions when it comes to taking the lives of others.
Things get dark in a hurry under the forest's dense red canopy, the only light coming in little neon pulses from twists and fissures running through the ground and trees. Everything about this weird place seems artificial and surreal. So old and yet so advanced. It makes for an uneasy feeling. Soon bits of architecture begin to appear, ruined buildings and little shrines holding ghostly flames. Khannie pushes a weird blue shrub aside as she delves deeper, careful to step around the skeleton the gnarled branches have grown around. He had really startled her the first time she found him. You don't usually expect to find random skeletons in forests.
And he wasn't the only one here, either.
She freezes when she hears a distant howl that's quickly answered by one that's MUCH closer.
"Aww beans it's the crystal wolf things," Khannie sort of swears. "They're not usually around here this time of day."
The teen sounds more annoyed than worried about all this. From her pack she draws forth two objects. A baton with two long tines on it like a giant tuning fork in one hand and a rather advanced looking pistol in the other.
"They'll be coming in quick; lots of 'em, too. Don't let the creeps surround you," she says. "They just bite, mostly. But they can bite pretty darn hard."
Khannie has precious little experience with the arcane art of figuring out what the age of lizard people is.
Either way, she licks her fingers clean and stuffs the little brown bag into her pack before replying with, "I'm Khannie Vallarm. I haven't got any fancy titles or anything."
Come on, Khannie. You've used several super hero names over the years.
Those totally count as fancy titles. Just a different sort of fancy title.
"Helps pretty good! You're a hero, then? That's the best kinda adventurer," she says as she steels herself briefly before hopping over the little creek and tromping off into the forest beyond. "Adventurers though... they do more killing than I like a lot of the time. I think the super hero code is better! Just beating up the bad guys so then the authorities can take 'em away to get a trial. Or fighting robots! Since those aren't people, just machines."
Khannie definitely has some pretty firm convictions when it comes to taking the lives of others.
Things get dark in a hurry under the forest's dense red canopy, the only light coming in little neon pulses from twists and fissures running through the ground and trees. Everything about this weird place seems artificial and surreal. So old and yet so advanced. It makes for an uneasy feeling. Soon bits of architecture begin to appear, ruined buildings and little shrines holding ghostly flames. Khannie pushes a weird blue shrub aside as she delves deeper, careful to step around the skeleton the gnarled branches have grown around. He had really startled her the first time she found him. You don't usually expect to find random skeletons in forests.
And he wasn't the only one here, either.
She freezes when she hears a distant howl that's quickly answered by one that's MUCH closer.
"Aww beans it's the crystal wolf things," Khannie sort of swears. "They're not usually around here this time of day."
The teen sounds more annoyed than worried about all this. From her pack she draws forth two objects. A baton with two long tines on it like a giant tuning fork in one hand and a rather advanced looking pistol in the other.
"They'll be coming in quick; lots of 'em, too. Don't let the creeps surround you," she says. "They just bite, mostly. But they can bite pretty darn hard."
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Shadowcaller
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Magtok wrote: ↑Nov 21, 2022 9:41 pm [Tower of Oujet]
Saint Lazarus tries her hardest not to sigh in exasperation. She left the elf alone for like ten seconds. For less than a minute! All she had to do was push a big pylon and then report back. Saint Lazarus would've been happy to look at the 'puzzle' stuff, to handle the thinking for her. It should've been impossible to find trouble and chaos and magical marble murder machines in such a short time, and yet...here we are.
"Press the button, Anika! That one, there!" she points, before standing back up and twirling her big sword in her hands. She knows from something she read long ago that gold is one of the softer metals, but is it soft enough to crumple against her blade? Can crude steel rend the limbs of tastefully-sculpted ancient artisan automatons? Well...she guesses we'll find out soon enough. With zweihander held high, she times her sprint to coincide with the path of the killer robots, to flank them and bring her blade down on a golem's limbs just as Anika runs past and the constructs reach the bottom of the staircase.
Rebonack wrote: ↑Nov 15, 2022 11:34 pm [The Tower of Oujet]
A zombie is hurled at another zombie.
Thankfully that isn't hard, it wasn't much heavier than a regular not undead and mutated human. And Laz seems pretty strong!
So now two zombies are tumbling down the stairs giving Laz just enough time to notice three things.
First?
Anika isn't tending to the pylon. It's been shoved up against the central pillar but the clamps haven't been engaged. It's just sitting there, a flashing button on the control pad beeping forlornly every few seconds entreating anyone within earshot to complete the coupling sequence.
Second?
Anika is at the stairs leading up to the second floor shouting about how there isn't any door blocking their way. That might not be too much of a shock since the tower seems to be utterly lacking in doors but quite abundant with elegantly arched doorways.
Third?
A pair of gold and marble murder bots are scrabbling down the stairs after Anika firing bolts of arcane energy at her. Apparently she made some friends recently.
Earl of Purple wrote: ↑Nov 17, 2022 7:21 pm Sky Library
"My grandfather summoned a devil and asked for immortality. It was granted, in exchange for autonomy. He's spent over a century sealed into the family mausoleum trying to get out, unable to die so long as the devil remains inside him but equally unable to do anything but follow the devil's agenda. Which is of apocalyptic scale; rule one of diabolism is 'don't deal with devils'. Demons, imps, succubi, rakshasa, all can be approached safely with the right technique. Devils wish only to spread, and any deal made with one will see that aim met." The issue with the other fiends mentioned is that they cannot grant immortality; the closest is a raksha, offering an extended life in exchange for a finger.
[Tower of Oujet]Murkus wrote: ↑Nov 21, 2022 6:23 pm [Hog Heaven]
Tsumi does her best to keep pace with Dena. It becomes challenging in no time at all, the swiftness of the gorgon's legs and hips putting most others in the room to shame. Still, they try. They take up Dena's dance or chart their own to the tune, some fitting and some not. The patrons cheer along with Dena when she reaches out to the crowd or performs a particularly thrilling series of motions.
For most of her 'solo act', Tsumi is following Dena right along, hands on her hips, laughing as Dena teases her, the crowd, or both. Tsumi has good footwork for someone so large - she tries to match each turn, step and spin. The gleam of sweat shows glossily on her before long.
Then, finally, with another attention-grabbing shake of her hips, Dena takes Tsumi's hands. Tsumi laughs lightly as she's pulled into the paired dance. Back and forth along the bar they go, movements in sync, galvanized by the cheers of the onlookers below.
When Dena presses in her hips and grabs Tsumi's butt, the oni only hesitates for a shocked second. Oh, right, she was trying to give her directions. Her face goes from briefly stunned to a wide, blushing grin, and she mimics the gorgon as best she can. For a moment, they're moving in sync, not leading and being led but working as one... then another chorus passes through and they're on to the next part of the dance.
The bargoers try to give Dena space as she takes Tsumi off the bar and into the final part of her dance. The ogress follows Dena's rocking hips, draws close again when the gorgon directs, moves with flow and the right points of emphasis. By the time they're into the last sequence she's really got it. The two of them look far too good together to be a fitting pair for this place.
Then suddenly the song is over, and Dena parts from her. Tsumi is left swaying there a moment, all while the bar around them devolves into quite a chaotic dancing mess and the large jukebox launches into another number from a catalog of French dancing tunes. The floor around them is still somewhat clear, but more than one person hollers that they'd like to buy Dena a drink (or just whistles). "Wow! You're--" Tsumi laughs, reaching up to rub her neck, working it this way and that. That really got her moving in ways that she hasn't for quite some time. "You weren't even trying, were you? You're like an angel. Lady..." She grins and shakes her head, making her short braid sway. Her eyes take on a hooded, satisfied quality, and she can only try to match Dena's smugness. "I don't normally let even angels grab me like that on the first date. Where'd you learn to dance like that, huh?"
Hey now, Anika had shouted to Laz that it didn't seem to work but apparently she hadn't heard her!
Of course, she could have done something else to grab the ghoul knights attention. Or just shouted again rather than just leave but-
Those thing hadn't happened!
And here they were.
But before she could do any of the things Laz was shouting at her she glanced at what was behind her.
Confirming that indeed those guardians still sucked at their job!
There could be a whole party of adventurers in the place they were supposed to guard while they were chasing her!
Mentally cursing those stupid golems she still made a beeline for the damn button. She'd press it but only to confirm that it wouldn't do anything. Then maybe they could make the guardians fight the zombies or something? Perhaps she should have actually paid more attention to this stupid contraption...
Sky Library
"Oh, a summoner are you? That explains why you're here dealing with something far beyond your own power." Megeshi bares her enormous jagged teeth into a grin, at least coming off as amused rather than threatening this time around.
"But while my own solution to such things is eating the offending creature, I guess that's not a possibility for you is it? But you could always take him here. Or perhaps transfer this devil of yours into an object that's easier to handle than the body of your grandfather?" She pauses, her eye widening in a way that would suggest she would be raising her eyebrows right now if she had any. "Then if it's still a problem you could let me eat the object instead. Though I can't guarantee that'll I would be able to digest a devil so perhaps those books you've already found would be of better help."
[Hog Heaven]
"Think I could have picked some better music actually." Dena muses in the face of all this praise. "I wanted to try something new but perhaps it wasn't the best choice when you're trying to show off." She winks again.
"But it's something I've learned way back that I never quite managed to unlearn despite my best efforts." She nods to the bar as to indicate what those 'efforts' were. "Since apparently while the brain can forget a lot your hips never do." She lets her hips wiggle as if on command. "And I suppose I've found a use or two for it. Certainly never heard any complaints." Dena's grin widens.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Tower of Oujet]
There's a heavy CHONK! as Laz' blade bites into the gilded surface of the golem, causing a spray of blue haze shot through with arcs of electricity to spurt from the 'wound'. Doesn't cleave the thing in half, sadly. It isn't JUST gold in there, it's marble as well. And while both of those things are pretty soft the construct is also pretty good sized. Laz damaged it for sure, though. It's kind enough to respond by trying to jab her in the gut with a prod-like limb and send an arc of arcane power ripping through her.
Can she even be stunned by electricity, given that she isn't alive?
I suppose we'll find out together.
Meanwhile!
Anika pushes a button!
It makes a little rising jingle in response and stops flashing, turning a solid gold color. Arcs of power begin flowing up the column and something on the next floor begins humming rather loudly. Also! A screen is projected from the pylon's interface! It shows a schematic of the two constructs in mostly blue, though a section of one of them is red instead. Specifically the part Laz just sworded really hard. After displaying the readout three lines of text scroll out, each with one of the buttons below flashing next to it.
This is probably a menu of some kind but it's all written in that dumb script that's made completely out of arcs and circles and stuff! Everyone who can read it is probably dead and Anika isn't a necromancer!
Regardless if Anika decides to keep pressing buttons it sure SOUNDS like something is going on up on the second floor that wasn't before.
There's a heavy CHONK! as Laz' blade bites into the gilded surface of the golem, causing a spray of blue haze shot through with arcs of electricity to spurt from the 'wound'. Doesn't cleave the thing in half, sadly. It isn't JUST gold in there, it's marble as well. And while both of those things are pretty soft the construct is also pretty good sized. Laz damaged it for sure, though. It's kind enough to respond by trying to jab her in the gut with a prod-like limb and send an arc of arcane power ripping through her.
Can she even be stunned by electricity, given that she isn't alive?
I suppose we'll find out together.
Meanwhile!
Anika pushes a button!
It makes a little rising jingle in response and stops flashing, turning a solid gold color. Arcs of power begin flowing up the column and something on the next floor begins humming rather loudly. Also! A screen is projected from the pylon's interface! It shows a schematic of the two constructs in mostly blue, though a section of one of them is red instead. Specifically the part Laz just sworded really hard. After displaying the readout three lines of text scroll out, each with one of the buttons below flashing next to it.
This is probably a menu of some kind but it's all written in that dumb script that's made completely out of arcs and circles and stuff! Everyone who can read it is probably dead and Anika isn't a necromancer!
Regardless if Anika decides to keep pressing buttons it sure SOUNDS like something is going on up on the second floor that wasn't before.
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Earl of Purple
- Transcendent Soul Poster
- Posts: 2109
- Joined: Aug 01, 2022 3:59 pm
- Location: Amongst the Folk from the North
- Pronouns: He/Him
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Sky Library
"My grandfather was a summoner. A diabolist, is the title he used. He summoned the devil and bartered his autonomy for immortality, An unfortunate request, as it means he's not aging, needs no food or drink, and is hard to kill. I'm an occultist, I do not specialise in any one area of magic." Except Benedict sort-of does; there's a few things he can't do as well as a few he can do really well. "Transferring the devil is outside my capabilities, and releasing him from the tomb in which he's sealed would be dangerous. He's still got his prior abilities, enhanced by the power of the devil within. I don't have the power or ability to transfer it, so I was seeking to banish it back to Hell from whence it came. It's not a whole devil, just a fragment of one. Most of it remains in Hell, and it would seek to bring more of itself into reality to spread. I cannot handle even a small part of it, so really do not wish to risk bringing more of itself across. The wards on the tomb prevent that, and were placed by my father." Benedict's able to replenish the wards and keep them up to date, but creating new ones is beyond his ability.
"My grandfather was a summoner. A diabolist, is the title he used. He summoned the devil and bartered his autonomy for immortality, An unfortunate request, as it means he's not aging, needs no food or drink, and is hard to kill. I'm an occultist, I do not specialise in any one area of magic." Except Benedict sort-of does; there's a few things he can't do as well as a few he can do really well. "Transferring the devil is outside my capabilities, and releasing him from the tomb in which he's sealed would be dangerous. He's still got his prior abilities, enhanced by the power of the devil within. I don't have the power or ability to transfer it, so I was seeking to banish it back to Hell from whence it came. It's not a whole devil, just a fragment of one. Most of it remains in Hell, and it would seek to bring more of itself into reality to spread. I cannot handle even a small part of it, so really do not wish to risk bringing more of itself across. The wards on the tomb prevent that, and were placed by my father." Benedict's able to replenish the wards and keep them up to date, but creating new ones is beyond his ability.
Avatar provided by Happyturtle. Still using it, after all these years.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
Don't run now, my eggs are hatching.
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bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2775
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Picnic Area
"Some things, for the good of world, must die," Kothar replies. He's killed many, many monsters, and a sizeable number of people too. "It not my place to judge, but to make safe."
Kothar seems curious about the neon veins and strange plants and repeatedly stops to examine them and scrape off samples with a hunting knife as they walk deeper into the strange forest.
Then the wolves begin to howl.
In a fluid motion, Kothar draws both axe and shield and takes an easy, practiced stance. "Worry not for me. I faced much worse." The head of the axe blazes to life with red and white flames. "I hear. They come... Now!" And as soon as the first creature pokes its head into his reach, he will move to cut it off.
"Some things, for the good of world, must die," Kothar replies. He's killed many, many monsters, and a sizeable number of people too. "It not my place to judge, but to make safe."
Kothar seems curious about the neon veins and strange plants and repeatedly stops to examine them and scrape off samples with a hunting knife as they walk deeper into the strange forest.
Then the wolves begin to howl.
In a fluid motion, Kothar draws both axe and shield and takes an easy, practiced stance. "Worry not for me. I faced much worse." The head of the axe blazes to life with red and white flames. "I hear. They come... Now!" And as soon as the first creature pokes its head into his reach, he will move to cut it off.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Picnic Area]
The glowing trees are certainly strange. They aren't natural things at all, but rather machines created in the image of trees ostensibly to serve the same purpose. It isn't likely that their synthetic nature would be immediately obvious without examining the scrapings under a microscope.
"Yeah I don't judge either, that's why I don't kill anyone," Khannie argues. She is VERY adamant on this point. People who are bad need to be brought to justice. It isn't the place of capes to be executioners.
Obviously things that aren't people don't count.
Such as?
The crystal wolves!
Four of them come bursting from the undergrowth. Horrible things in the rough shape of canines with crystals of solidified light jutting from their bodies in place of fur creating an azure haze around them.
Kothar promptly decapitates one of them, the axe cleaving through plastic flesh and metal bones. The creature begins thrashing around blindly as the luminous fog that composes its fur begins lashing together to try pulling its head back into place. In spite of the burns it's trying to rebuild itself.
Khannie squeezes off two burning projectiles at one of the beasts, one catching it in the shoulder in a spray of vaporizing synth skin while the second clips right through its leg. "You gotta finish these things off or else they put themselves back together!"
The two uninjured crystal hounds lunge at our heroes with metal teeth flashing in the low forest light.
The glowing trees are certainly strange. They aren't natural things at all, but rather machines created in the image of trees ostensibly to serve the same purpose. It isn't likely that their synthetic nature would be immediately obvious without examining the scrapings under a microscope.
"Yeah I don't judge either, that's why I don't kill anyone," Khannie argues. She is VERY adamant on this point. People who are bad need to be brought to justice. It isn't the place of capes to be executioners.
Obviously things that aren't people don't count.
Such as?
The crystal wolves!
Four of them come bursting from the undergrowth. Horrible things in the rough shape of canines with crystals of solidified light jutting from their bodies in place of fur creating an azure haze around them.
Kothar promptly decapitates one of them, the axe cleaving through plastic flesh and metal bones. The creature begins thrashing around blindly as the luminous fog that composes its fur begins lashing together to try pulling its head back into place. In spite of the burns it's trying to rebuild itself.
Khannie squeezes off two burning projectiles at one of the beasts, one catching it in the shoulder in a spray of vaporizing synth skin while the second clips right through its leg. "You gotta finish these things off or else they put themselves back together!"
The two uninjured crystal hounds lunge at our heroes with metal teeth flashing in the low forest light.
Last edited by Rebonack on Nov 24, 2022 4:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2775
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Picnic Area
"Some evils must be destroyed, or they return. Mercy only so far, lives of innocents are more important." Kothar strikes out with his foot to kick the severed head away from its body, while slamming his shield into the next wolf to knock it away and stun it. "I know my Lady, the Mother of All, would not lead me wrong. A bear kills for its cubs. I kill for Her children."
"Some evils must be destroyed, or they return. Mercy only so far, lives of innocents are more important." Kothar strikes out with his foot to kick the severed head away from its body, while slamming his shield into the next wolf to knock it away and stun it. "I know my Lady, the Mother of All, would not lead me wrong. A bear kills for its cubs. I kill for Her children."
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Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Forsaken Cathedral]bc56 wrote: ↑Nov 18, 2022 4:59 am Forsaken Cathedral
Miranda proves she can fight well, if not fair. Bullets splatter into flesh, but no blood is forthcoming. Instead a clear fluid leaks from the wounds. Her target is, however, hardly holding still. The headshots miss, which gives him a chance to look up and attempt to meet Miranda's eyes.
If he manages to make eye contact, she'll suddenly find her legs collapsing beneath her as she loses all sense of balance. This must be what Charcoal fell victim to when she charged - and it's an ability no normal animal would have.
Oooooh that's vertigo.
glump!
Now, Miranda is no stranger to fights that take place while her senses are messed up. It's a favorite trick in the espionage community; people who can't see or hear or breathe or stand up straight have a hard time defending themselves, which makes it trivial to non-lethally subdue them and bring them in to be interrogated. It's unrealistic to expect to go out into the field with them and not expect a dirty trick of some sort.
But this is a new vector for that kind of thing. And while she got some warning from Charcoal's falling victim to it, Miranda wasn't expecting the effects to make themselves known that quickly.
Once she's on the floor, Miranda lays still, partially hoping to confuse the creature, but mostly expecting that it will be overconfident in its approach and not notice that she was still holding a handgun with two more shots in it. If it tries to get at her the way it did Charcoal, she can ram it directly into the creature's face and blast its eyes out, at a minimum. And that's exactly what she'll try to do.
[Wildfire]Hraithre wrote: ↑Nov 18, 2022 3:34 pm [Wildfire]
The animals fleeing from the fire certainly didn't take whatever started it kindly. Unlike them, the giant rooster does not fear the flames. It struts through the burning hamlet, pecking at or crushing underfoot those few people who are either too slow or paralyzed in fear. A boy, maybe ten years old, staring at it with awestruck eyes; an elderly woman who stumbled and fell flat on the ground; a woman trying to carry her three-year-old daughter to safety; all turned into puddles of blood, broken bones and mangled flames.
At the end of its tour, the avian monstrosity arrives at the collapsing house. Having determined it to stand on the highest spot, the rooster takes a short flight and descends on the wreckage, with what remains of the building ground to dust and ash under its weight. It stretches its neck, raising its head high, puffs its chest, and lets out an unholy crow.
"KRA-KRA-KRAAAAA!"
The sound is only slightly more musical, and just as loud as, the crackle of lightning of a storm right above. It goes on for almost a minute and returns thrice as an echo even after it ends. The survivors fleeing across the fields stumble and fall, covering their ears.
Its dominance firmly asserted, the bird looks around, its massive crimson eyes settling on the one, seemingly, humanoid being that's still around. It leers at the crimson-suited man, narrowing its eyes - whatever such expression would convey on the face of common fowl, here it seems to be adopted just to convey anger to the apparently humanoid observer. An unvoiced question hangs in the air: who is this man, and why is he here? Surely, he does not seek to challenge his position in the pecking order?
Why would he want to change positions? That would require moving down.
The man in the crimson suit chuckles and claps, stepping toward the massive bird with all the nonchalance one would expect if he were approaching a perfectly ordinary rooster. "Wonderful display. Simply magnificent." The man croons, quietly admiring the desolation. "I've been on the lookout for an animal like you. My last leviathan... well, she sort of lost her appetite. Damnedest thing." He waves his hand dismissively, deciding that's not something the bird will understand and not something it would care about even if it could. "How about it, big fella? How'd you like to work for a Devil, eh?"
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Wildfire]
Oh ho, the little man thinks himself higher than the rooster? A cause of war, that would be. But, the bird has determined this man is either inhuman or quite mad, or both, and has set aside its appetite for destruction to satisfy it curiosity instead.
It rears its head high, cocking it from side to side, the jittery motion making its majestic crest wiggle. It clucks ponderously as it weighs the man's words. As far as it is concerned, it does not work "for" anyone, and the Devil should be happy for its charitable work. But, if the man tells it what he wants, and it happens to sound interesting, it might do it anyway.
Oh ho, the little man thinks himself higher than the rooster? A cause of war, that would be. But, the bird has determined this man is either inhuman or quite mad, or both, and has set aside its appetite for destruction to satisfy it curiosity instead.
It rears its head high, cocking it from side to side, the jittery motion making its majestic crest wiggle. It clucks ponderously as it weighs the man's words. As far as it is concerned, it does not work "for" anyone, and the Devil should be happy for its charitable work. But, if the man tells it what he wants, and it happens to sound interesting, it might do it anyway.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Wildfire]
"Oh, come now, don't give me that." The crimson-suited man scoffs, shaking his head. "...Perhaps I was a bit hasty, anyway. Certainly you can cause a lot of trouble, but you'll be doing that without my asking for it. Hm." The man runs a finger against his chin and chuckles. "...Ah. There's an idea." He smirks and looks back up at the bird with a gold-plated grin. "How would you like a steady supply of feed, and much, much larger territory?"
"Oh, come now, don't give me that." The crimson-suited man scoffs, shaking his head. "...Perhaps I was a bit hasty, anyway. Certainly you can cause a lot of trouble, but you'll be doing that without my asking for it. Hm." The man runs a finger against his chin and chuckles. "...Ah. There's an idea." He smirks and looks back up at the bird with a gold-plated grin. "How would you like a steady supply of feed, and much, much larger territory?"
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Wildfire]
Ha ha, little man. Did you not know the whole world is already the rooster's territory?
But, the bird opts to play along and coos approvingly. If the man thinks he can offer something to it, then he must imagine himself quite powerful. Besides, it's a rare occasion for any human-shaped thing to offer any kind of a reward to the rooster for what it does - most simply wish for its swift and painful demise. Why not take the opportunity and see where it leads?
Ha ha, little man. Did you not know the whole world is already the rooster's territory?
But, the bird opts to play along and coos approvingly. If the man thinks he can offer something to it, then he must imagine himself quite powerful. Besides, it's a rare occasion for any human-shaped thing to offer any kind of a reward to the rooster for what it does - most simply wish for its swift and painful demise. Why not take the opportunity and see where it leads?
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest Beyond the Picnic Area]
As one of the wolves lunges for Khannie she thrusts forward with her baton, cramming it down the creature's throat as the weapon ignites with thermal energy. The synthoid gets cooked from the inside out.
Usually that does a pretty good job of preventing them from putting themselves back together. Thankfully these things aren't very powerful. They're just a pain when there are a whole bunch of them. Four would be kind of a hassle if Khannie were by herself but with another person here this is pretty easy. She plants her foot on the creature's face and yanks her baton free, pale blue fluid already cooking off of the weapon and filling the air with an acrid chemical smell.
Kothar boots the monster's head away and mashes the face of the second one, leaving it temporarily dazed from the heavy impact along with bending several of its metal teeth. It isn't dead yet, but that did a pretty solid job of softening it up for an easy killing blow.
"Like Batman and the Joker," Khannie says, understanding what Kothar is getting at though using a comparison he probably wouldn't be familiar with. She shoots the wolf she had already blasted a few more times until its parts stop moving. "The Joker is evil and Batman keeps handing him over to the police. But the justice system in Gotham is garbage so the Joker keeps getting away and hurting more people."
Thankfully Intersection isn't a complete clown-show like the Gotham Police are.
As one of the wolves lunges for Khannie she thrusts forward with her baton, cramming it down the creature's throat as the weapon ignites with thermal energy. The synthoid gets cooked from the inside out.
Usually that does a pretty good job of preventing them from putting themselves back together. Thankfully these things aren't very powerful. They're just a pain when there are a whole bunch of them. Four would be kind of a hassle if Khannie were by herself but with another person here this is pretty easy. She plants her foot on the creature's face and yanks her baton free, pale blue fluid already cooking off of the weapon and filling the air with an acrid chemical smell.
Kothar boots the monster's head away and mashes the face of the second one, leaving it temporarily dazed from the heavy impact along with bending several of its metal teeth. It isn't dead yet, but that did a pretty solid job of softening it up for an easy killing blow.
"Like Batman and the Joker," Khannie says, understanding what Kothar is getting at though using a comparison he probably wouldn't be familiar with. She shoots the wolf she had already blasted a few more times until its parts stop moving. "The Joker is evil and Batman keeps handing him over to the police. But the justice system in Gotham is garbage so the Joker keeps getting away and hurting more people."
Thankfully Intersection isn't a complete clown-show like the Gotham Police are.
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2775
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Forsaken Cathedral
The monster in human guise does indeed pounce on Miranda, and get a faceful of bullets for it's trouble. One eye is definitely ruined, and the thing rears back with an unnatural screech that could not belong to any human vocal cords.
It should be dead, clearly. Its human appearance must only be skin deep, and whatever it actually is is much more resilient.
In the meantime, Charcoal has pushed herself up to her knees and raises her staff. A jet of flame engulfs the creature and the screams only get worse as it begins to burn. Charcoal covers her ears in an attempt to drown it out.
Neon Forest
Kothar brings his axe down into the stunned wolf, cleaving it in two and finishing it off. "Bat-man? Joker? Pole-ice? I know not these names." He wipes his weapon clean and looks at the wolves again. "What happen to them? Wolves not normally hunt people."
The monster in human guise does indeed pounce on Miranda, and get a faceful of bullets for it's trouble. One eye is definitely ruined, and the thing rears back with an unnatural screech that could not belong to any human vocal cords.
It should be dead, clearly. Its human appearance must only be skin deep, and whatever it actually is is much more resilient.
In the meantime, Charcoal has pushed herself up to her knees and raises her staff. A jet of flame engulfs the creature and the screams only get worse as it begins to burn. Charcoal covers her ears in an attempt to drown it out.
Neon Forest
Kothar brings his axe down into the stunned wolf, cleaving it in two and finishing it off. "Bat-man? Joker? Pole-ice? I know not these names." He wipes his weapon clean and looks at the wolves again. "What happen to them? Wolves not normally hunt people."
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest]
Khannie kicks one of the creatures just to make sure none of their parts are still moving. When their weird fur dissipates like fog that's a pretty good indicator that they're aren't working anymore.
"Okay those first two make sense but you don't know what police are? Like... uh... town guards? I guess?" Khannie offers. An adventurer would know what town guards are, right? Every single town on adventures has got guards who tell you useless things like not to dawdle who whack you if you decide to do evil stuff.
Anyway Khannie's analogy probably isn't THAT important in the grand scheme of things.
"They're aren't wolves, not really," Khannie says as she begins blazing a trail deeper into the forest. She uses her baton to chop through bushes and trees that have over-grown her well used footpath since her last visit. "They're machines. Uh... golems? People made them as weapons, I think. For a war that ended a long time ago. But the weapons don't know that the war's over so they keep fighting."
What kind of fool would create a weapon that needs no wielder? A weapon that can kill with no upright heart behind it to decide when mercy is needed?
"There are a couple of forges for the weapons under this forest. I've broken a couple of 'em. I'm not sure if something keeps making new forges or if I missed some of 'em or if the Nexus keeps pulling new ones in. But not matter the reason I gotta make sure they don't ruin the rest stop 'cuz SOMEONE has to do it."
Certainly an adamant child.
Khannie kicks one of the creatures just to make sure none of their parts are still moving. When their weird fur dissipates like fog that's a pretty good indicator that they're aren't working anymore.
"Okay those first two make sense but you don't know what police are? Like... uh... town guards? I guess?" Khannie offers. An adventurer would know what town guards are, right? Every single town on adventures has got guards who tell you useless things like not to dawdle who whack you if you decide to do evil stuff.
Anyway Khannie's analogy probably isn't THAT important in the grand scheme of things.
"They're aren't wolves, not really," Khannie says as she begins blazing a trail deeper into the forest. She uses her baton to chop through bushes and trees that have over-grown her well used footpath since her last visit. "They're machines. Uh... golems? People made them as weapons, I think. For a war that ended a long time ago. But the weapons don't know that the war's over so they keep fighting."
What kind of fool would create a weapon that needs no wielder? A weapon that can kill with no upright heart behind it to decide when mercy is needed?
"There are a couple of forges for the weapons under this forest. I've broken a couple of 'em. I'm not sure if something keeps making new forges or if I missed some of 'em or if the Nexus keeps pulling new ones in. But not matter the reason I gotta make sure they don't ruin the rest stop 'cuz SOMEONE has to do it."
Certainly an adamant child.
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bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2775
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Neon Forest
"Town guards not good for real evil," Kothar explains, now that he understands what's being described, "Powers of darkness can not be contained by walls." The explanation of the wolves makes sense too. He's fought magical machines before. "Auto-mata. Weapons of cowards. It is wrong, kill without seeing, without deciding."
"Town guards not good for real evil," Kothar explains, now that he understands what's being described, "Powers of darkness can not be contained by walls." The explanation of the wolves makes sense too. He's fought magical machines before. "Auto-mata. Weapons of cowards. It is wrong, kill without seeing, without deciding."
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Hog Heaven]
"I think it was alright, myself, but now you're just bragging," Tsumi chides, crossing her arms under her bosom and arching her eyebrow. "Despite your best efforts, huh? Doomed to dance?" She sounds skeptical.
"Lady, I've seen worse dancing in a queen's court... You could really make something of yourself, if you wanted," She nods. "I'm pretty sure you'd need to actually dissolve your liver to unlearn those moves, and nobody wants to see that. Do me a favor and don't unlearn anything, huh? Even if you just end up dancing for me," she proffers the gorgon a wink.
"I think it was alright, myself, but now you're just bragging," Tsumi chides, crossing her arms under her bosom and arching her eyebrow. "Despite your best efforts, huh? Doomed to dance?" She sounds skeptical.
"Lady, I've seen worse dancing in a queen's court... You could really make something of yourself, if you wanted," She nods. "I'm pretty sure you'd need to actually dissolve your liver to unlearn those moves, and nobody wants to see that. Do me a favor and don't unlearn anything, huh? Even if you just end up dancing for me," she proffers the gorgon a wink.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest]
"The guards for Inside are pretty great at their job; they keep all SORTS of weird bad guys locked up," Khannie insists. They wouldn't be terribly useful if they couldn't keep in check atomic mutants, dastardly super villains, and evil wizards. "And lots of dark powers get held by walls that's the whole sealed evil in a can thing!"
Khannie frowns.
"But the cans DO always start leaking in the stories, huh?"
They wouldn't be very interesting stories if they didn't.
"Well that's how these guys did it. But I think they're all gone now so I dunno. Maybe they got what they deserved. Or maybe they didn't. War seems really terrible to me," Khannie reasons as she shoves some more bushes out of the way to reveal a small clearing littered with metal bones. Near the center is an oddly out of place metal plate with a little pillar next to it, all oddly dark compared to the neon forest.
"That's where the first factory I wrecked was. That was a few years ago, though."
To find the next one they'll have to search deeper.
"The guards for Inside are pretty great at their job; they keep all SORTS of weird bad guys locked up," Khannie insists. They wouldn't be terribly useful if they couldn't keep in check atomic mutants, dastardly super villains, and evil wizards. "And lots of dark powers get held by walls that's the whole sealed evil in a can thing!"
Khannie frowns.
"But the cans DO always start leaking in the stories, huh?"
They wouldn't be very interesting stories if they didn't.
"Well that's how these guys did it. But I think they're all gone now so I dunno. Maybe they got what they deserved. Or maybe they didn't. War seems really terrible to me," Khannie reasons as she shoves some more bushes out of the way to reveal a small clearing littered with metal bones. Near the center is an oddly out of place metal plate with a little pillar next to it, all oddly dark compared to the neon forest.
"That's where the first factory I wrecked was. That was a few years ago, though."
To find the next one they'll have to search deeper.
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Wildfire]Hraithre wrote: ↑Nov 24, 2022 1:04 pm [Wildfire]
Ha ha, little man. Did you not know the whole world is already the rooster's territory?
But, the bird opts to play along and coos approvingly. If the man thinks he can offer something to it, then he must imagine himself quite powerful. Besides, it's a rare occasion for any human-shaped thing to offer any kind of a reward to the rooster for what it does - most simply wish for its swift and painful demise. Why not take the opportunity and see where it leads?
The crimson-suited man adjusts his tie and smirks. "I thought that would get your attention." He chuckles. "All right, then, my fine, fiendish, feathered friend. How familiar are you with the concept of tribute? Having your victims bring you gifts so you pass them over. Ever consider something like that before?"
[Forsaken Cathedral]bc56 wrote: ↑Nov 24, 2022 9:20 pm Forsaken Cathedral
The monster in human guise does indeed pounce on Miranda, and get a faceful of bullets for it's trouble. One eye is definitely ruined, and the thing rears back with an unnatural screech that could not belong to any human vocal cords.
It should be dead, clearly. Its human appearance must only be skin deep, and whatever it actually is is much more resilient.
In the meantime, Charcoal has pushed herself up to her knees and raises her staff. A jet of flame engulfs the creature and the screams only get worse as it begins to burn. Charcoal covers her ears in an attempt to drown it out.
Of course, laying underneath an on-fire monster of some description isn't particularly healthy for Miranda, either. And while she's certain Charcoal can finish the creature on her own, Miranda sees fit to throw in one more advantage to twist the knife further.
Namely, her foot shooting up to hook the beast under the chin, followed by a swift kick intended to knock it onto its back. Let's see how it likes being off its feet, hm?
Who're you? ...Don't matter.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
Want some rye? Course ya do!
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few,
And they're aaaaall dead.
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2775
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Neon Forest
Kothar grimaces. "I like it not." He shakes his head and continues. "An auto-maton cannot account for actions. It not controlled, merely aimed. Too many innocents harmed." He sweeps his weapon through the air to emphasize his point, shedding a spray of sparks behind the axe blade.
Kothar grimaces. "I like it not." He shakes his head and continues. "An auto-maton cannot account for actions. It not controlled, merely aimed. Too many innocents harmed." He sweeps his weapon through the air to emphasize his point, shedding a spray of sparks behind the axe blade.
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest]
"Yeah I think so, too," Khannie agrees. "It doesn't help that they don't know the wars done but they just keep trying to kill."
Doesn't help even a little bit.
Our heroes push on, through tall looming black trees with strange circuits of glowing magenta light pulsing through them. Pillars of the same colors stick out here and there, humming softly in the gloom. The canopy above is almost a tapestry of crisscrossing cables, geometric shapes, and flickering screens of light. Even the ground under their feet is strange and alien, reflective like smooth glass and yet it bends and sways like a verdant carpet of grass. Here and there machines of unknown origin and purpose lay discarded like fallen logs, some still pulsing with neon light while others are still and dark.
Khannie stops at one, almost like a tomb-stone in shape. Draped against it is a skeleton that is almost, but not quite, human.
"Thanks again for the sword, mister guy," Khannie says to the skeleton before pressing on. "I found my sword stuck in top of this rock. I think it used to belong to that guy but I dunno who he was."
Considering the other skeletons scattered around nearby with bones of metal and crystal in monstrous shapes the previous owner must have perished as a result of a battle.
"Yeah I think so, too," Khannie agrees. "It doesn't help that they don't know the wars done but they just keep trying to kill."
Doesn't help even a little bit.
Our heroes push on, through tall looming black trees with strange circuits of glowing magenta light pulsing through them. Pillars of the same colors stick out here and there, humming softly in the gloom. The canopy above is almost a tapestry of crisscrossing cables, geometric shapes, and flickering screens of light. Even the ground under their feet is strange and alien, reflective like smooth glass and yet it bends and sways like a verdant carpet of grass. Here and there machines of unknown origin and purpose lay discarded like fallen logs, some still pulsing with neon light while others are still and dark.
Khannie stops at one, almost like a tomb-stone in shape. Draped against it is a skeleton that is almost, but not quite, human.
"Thanks again for the sword, mister guy," Khannie says to the skeleton before pressing on. "I found my sword stuck in top of this rock. I think it used to belong to that guy but I dunno who he was."
Considering the other skeletons scattered around nearby with bones of metal and crystal in monstrous shapes the previous owner must have perished as a result of a battle.
-
bc56
- Poster from Beyond the Veil
- Posts: 2775
- Joined: Jul 25, 2022 3:09 pm
- Location: Sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
Neon Forest
Kothar kneels over the skeleton and murmurs a short prayer in his own tongue, then stands again. "Let us go."
Forsaken Cathedral
With the creature knocked down and burning, it's clearly no longer a threat. "You all right?" Charcoal helps Miranda back to her feet. "If there's anyone else down here, they'll have heard that. We need to move quickly."
Kothar kneels over the skeleton and murmurs a short prayer in his own tongue, then stands again. "Let us go."
Forsaken Cathedral
With the creature knocked down and burning, it's clearly no longer a threat. "You all right?" Charcoal helps Miranda back to her feet. "If there's anyone else down here, they'll have heard that. We need to move quickly."
Avatar by me! No more outsourcing!
Re: Outside: Grass touch place
[Neon Forest]
Go indeed.
Khannie takes a winding path through the trees, pausing now and again to spy various odd landmarks here and there and orient herself with respect to them. A pillar etched with glowing magenta lines. A crashed vehicle that, in spite of clearly being badly damage, still looks like it might be functional. An old, forlorn vending machine. A large glass tube that has been filled with stones. But eventually she comes over a small hill and they find themselves at their destination.
Rising amidst the trees is a stark black monolith, curved subtly forward like a giant looming over the stones and neon moss. Azure and magenta lights creep across it in rippling waves, sending strange unshadows flickering over the glassy tree trunks all around. There's a pressure in the air here. A sense of being watched. A subtle feeling of raw power lurking just beyond sight light a storm about to break. Three small pillars surround the spire, one flickering with magenta light, one azure, and one in muted white.
Approaching cautiously, Khannie runs her fingers along the monolith, ripples of light radiating from her touch as if she were trailing her hand through a pond. Somewhere deep below the sound of moving machinery can be heard.
"I haven't been able to figure out how to get into this one yet," Khannie says, eyeing the spire. "But it feels important. Like there's something down there. Maybe even the thing that's running all the weapons. I already tried hitting it by that didn't work."
It sure didn't.
"Usually there's a key or something. A place to tell it to open. But I haven't found one and the key I've used on the other doors hasn't worked so I just found other spots to explore," Khannie admits. She isn't sure if the adventurer has any good ideas himself.
Go indeed.
Khannie takes a winding path through the trees, pausing now and again to spy various odd landmarks here and there and orient herself with respect to them. A pillar etched with glowing magenta lines. A crashed vehicle that, in spite of clearly being badly damage, still looks like it might be functional. An old, forlorn vending machine. A large glass tube that has been filled with stones. But eventually she comes over a small hill and they find themselves at their destination.
Rising amidst the trees is a stark black monolith, curved subtly forward like a giant looming over the stones and neon moss. Azure and magenta lights creep across it in rippling waves, sending strange unshadows flickering over the glassy tree trunks all around. There's a pressure in the air here. A sense of being watched. A subtle feeling of raw power lurking just beyond sight light a storm about to break. Three small pillars surround the spire, one flickering with magenta light, one azure, and one in muted white.
Approaching cautiously, Khannie runs her fingers along the monolith, ripples of light radiating from her touch as if she were trailing her hand through a pond. Somewhere deep below the sound of moving machinery can be heard.
"I haven't been able to figure out how to get into this one yet," Khannie says, eyeing the spire. "But it feels important. Like there's something down there. Maybe even the thing that's running all the weapons. I already tried hitting it by that didn't work."
It sure didn't.
"Usually there's a key or something. A place to tell it to open. But I haven't found one and the key I've used on the other doors hasn't worked so I just found other spots to explore," Khannie admits. She isn't sure if the adventurer has any good ideas himself.