Outside: Grass touch place

[Hraithre]

[Welmet]

"Alright, then hop on. We've got an asshole bird to catch."

If Harriet gets onto the deer, Hiep will direct her mount in the direction the rooster flew to. She seems to have a decent enough idea where to go, despite having no tracks to follow.

Welmet

Once she's dressed, and has put the pauldrons and belt back on for the supernatural benefits they grant her, she'll hop onto the deer and cling rather tightly to Hiep, mace at her waist and burning spear held awkwardly. Hiep should get the idea that Harriet has never ridden a deer before. Or a horse, or a dog, or a bicycle, or anything else. She's not very graceful at it and lurches occasionally as she loses balance.

[On trail of the firebird]

Following the rooster is not hard, and in fact gets easier as the day turns to dusk: it splits the clouds where it flies and its flames shine bright against the sky. Hiep and Harriet can see it flying ahead whenever the trees are sparse enough for them to catch a glimpse of the sky. Thankfully, the bird is not leading them towards Weirding Wood, where the earlier fire is likely still raging.

Shortly before nightfall, the rooster descends on a small rocky hill amidst the forest. There is a small crevice or cavern between the rocks, way too small for the bird to fit in, given it is larger than the entire hill. Yet, somehow it manages anyway, the flames deforming and disappearing between the rocks like a giant octopus squeezing itself through a hole the size of a quarter. When Hiep and Harriet reach the spot, the air is still wavering from the heat, lichen and moss around the hill having been dried and charred.

[bc56]

Forsaken Cathedral
Miranda hasn't tried to do this much, has she?
Sekhmet is relatively easy to contact, because she's powerful. It feels like Miranda is pushing her thoughts into an empty, fuzzy void. If Charcoal is out there somewhere, she's too far to hear.
Let me, uh, patch you through. Sure, she could send the message herself, but Sekhmet believes she shouldn't pull the wind out of her friend's sails. Miranda? I'm fine, I'm hiding. Get yourselves out and come back for me after dark.

[Murkus]

[Clutching Pearls]

"Why, I could use some assistance searching as well. You see, I'm not looking for just any hero. More explicitly, I'm looking for a hero's grave." Vargain casts a quick look around, as though expecting to catch sight of it even now. The old sorcerer listens solemnly to Lapis' advice, seemingly granting it grave consideration.

"You speak true, Lapis. And your mother is very wise. Very wise," Vargain's grip tightens momentarily around his stave and he lurches back to his full height, a slight groan escaping him as something in his back uncrumples. "Things happen all the time that ought not to happen. There is suffering where should spring joy. People perish where they ought to live. And there is no reason for it. No reason at all." Vargain's eyes flash. "It is maddening, living in an unreasoning universe. I pray you are never quite old enough in your heart to see it so."

Vargain turns his body around with a dignified, grandfatherly slowness, glancing about to help Lapis begin searching for more pearls. His long cloak drags along the forest floor but never seems to grow dirty or become caught.

"Though perhaps you don't possess an ordinary heart, as mere men do. You have a most peculiar aura, Lapis, do you know this?" asks Vargain. "Tell me, Lapis. Have you ever lost someone you cared for dearly?"

[Hog Heaven]

"Well I was thinking we could spar with practice weapons. If you were, mayhap, uncomfortable coming to grips with little old me," Tsumi says, grinning as Dena pats her. Tsumi says a few quick words to her barback, grabs a bottle off the counter that was going unused, and follows Dena out to the back.

There's a wide dirt track out behind the Hog, with clear lines cut into the soil and a few high lights on poles illuminating the space. They blinker unsteadily, the shadows rushing in and out again with nauseating swiftness. There are a couple of weapon racks set up leaning against the back of the roadhouse, a chalk scoreboard hanging (currently with a few cross-hatch lines and some struck-through numbers remaining). A cool night wind blows pebbles and small particulates across the barren span.

[Morty]

[On trail of the firebird]

"That's a weird lair for a bird to have," Hiep observes. She's sitting on her deer, with Harriet having been instructed to sit behind her and hold her by the waist. "I give this good odds of being a trap."

[Shadowcaller]

[Hog Heaven]

"Practice weapons, eh?" Dena's eyebrows raise as if she had never heard such a novel concept before.
She has of course, but she had to confirm her suspicions as she comes along out the back. She stares at the weapon stand, as if she didn't know what to do with them.
"Don't think I've held a weapon not made of metal since..." She seems lose her train of thought mid-sentence. "-it's bad luck y'know? The ancestors spite those that use weapons out of wood. Particularly if yer' sloshed since you might damage it." Dena muses without much seriousness in her voice. "So I don't suppose you have one of them baby-weapons in metal?"

[Earl of Purple]

On the Trail of the Firebird

Harriet is not a skilled or comfortable rider, and may well be clinging a bit tighter than Hiep would find comfortable. "I agree. We could stay out here, see if we can find a way to seal that cave behind it? But... we don't know if there's any other way out." And it's possible there's people living in the cave anyway, or the giant cockerel could force its way out using brute strength and possible magic.

[Hraithre]

[On trail of the firebird]

The cave does not look like it could be very large. Of mundane animals, it could maybe house a single bear. If it has other exits or entrances, they are sized for things like snakes, foxes and badgers, not humans or giant fowl. But of course, as the rooster just demonstrated, it pays little respect to such physical limitations.

If the women want to scout the surroundings, that is easily done - the rooster did not have time to set anything up. Other than being slightly taller and barer of vegetation than other nearby hills, the area is quite mundane. The only odd thing is that crows and other birds of carrion start gathering and glaring at them from the trees.

[Rebonack]

[Clutching Pearls]

That seems like a very strange thing to need to find.

Lapis knows what graves are. They're what she and Mister Wenomir put the dead squirrel in. A place to remember someone who died. But why does Mister Vargain need to find a grave? Maybe the hero was one of Mister Vargain's friends? This is all very mysterious to Lapis. Less mysterious is the unfairness. Lapis has seen many unfair things. She knows what Mister Varagain is talking about.

But!

That's why she's here! She and others like her.

"The world isn't fair because it isn't Correct, Mister Varagain. It's full of bad things. But it's the job of heroes to make that better!"

Lapis makes things better by Dividing. To bring resolution and distinction. Cutting to create purpose. These are all very important things to her. Though right now she's just cutting the stem on another tree pearl so she can stow it away with the others. By her count she needs just a few more! She makes a point of shimmying back down out of the tree. It's best to do things the normal way if you can. The cosmos doesn't get as riled that way.

"I don't know what an aura is but I've got a star for a heart," Lapis says as she hops to the forest floor and begins carefully passing through some glowing underbrush as she forges deeper. The way she moves is uncanny, stepping with such care that not even the blades of luminous grass rustle as she passes. "I haven't lost any friends, not yet. But Mister Wenomir says that everyone dies eventually. I think when one of my friends dies I'll be sad."

Being sad feels like a good thing to feel at the passing of a friend, in Lapis' estimation.

She pops out of some bushes into a little clearing, hoping from a ledge down on top of a fallen log and carefully balancing her way across, careful not to crush the glowing mushrooms that dot its surface. That shrub probably should have left her covered in prickly pink burs but she emerged undaunted and unencumbered.


[Neon Bunker]

Ah.

Now that's a good question.

"Yeah! Dungeons have bosses. That's how dungeons WORK. It wouldn't be a REAL dungeon if it didn't have any boss," Khannie explains helpfully as she approaches the shrine at the crossroads. One by one she takes out the keys, pulls their receptacles out of the floor, inserts them, and then shoves the containers back down again. Once all three are in place a glowing triangle of light about two meters at each edge suddenly flashes to life. "The boss is the big monster in charge of the dungeon. You've gotta beat 'em to clear it."

Kothar is and adventurer, isn't he?

How could he possibly not know how dungeons work?

"I think this thing is an elevator. It should take us down to the bottom level of the dungeon."

Then?

Khannie grabs the lever looking part of the altar and pulls it down, causing the whole platform to begin humming as it starts its smooth descent.

[bc56]

Neon Bunker
The elevator doesn't surprise Kothar much, but he just seems more confused by the discussion. "Why would all hole in ground have big monster?" Why, Khannie? Why do all dungeons have bosses? Why do you even need to "clear" them?

[Morty]

[On trail of the firebird]

"Can't say I know of a way to seal it, outside of just punching the rock a lot." Hiep will dismount and crouch in front of the hole. She hasn't uttered any complaints about Harriet squeezing her throughout the trip. She seems an odd mix of reckless and thrill-seeking and stubbornly purposeful. "I don't think there's a way to do this that doesn't involve us going inside."

[Earl of Purple]

Trail of the Firebird

"I probably could. Blast the entrance with enough heat the stone cracks, crumbles, and do it that way. But... the rooster probably could do the same to get out, actually." Unless it suffocated first! But this bird is already not running on logic, so who's to say if that would work?

"So we're going in, then?" Harriet gets off the deer and stumbles before figuring out how to walk again, and heading towards the crevice in the stone. She'll head inside possibly first, as she knows if the rooster decides to blast fire up the hole, she can take the fire and heat unharmed.

[Hraithre]

[Trail of the firebird]

The cave is dark and hot like a sauna and there's not much more to be said about it. It doesn't take long for Harriet to reach the back and what would be, to a human, a dead end.

Yet, she knows she's not alone, and the rooster can't bother to pretend otherwise either. "What brings you to my den, human?", a voice booms from the bedrock, "do you insist on rebelling against judgement of God? Or have you perhaps come to finally surrender yourself as sacrifice? Do you perhaps regret the ruin you brought upon your kin?"

[Morty]

[Junkyard]

Wenomir stops in his tracks and jumps back, swinging his sword in front of him. This seems to actually push the explosion back for a split-second, enough for him to get clear. However, Zeeland did manage to put some distance.

"Try to slow him down or stop him," he says in a quiet voice into his communicator, hoping that Mia, Eun and Khafir have a trick up their sleeves.

[Trail of the firebird]

Hiep follows Harriet into the crevice, wiping her brow from the heat. This is going to get pretty uncomfortable if there's a fight. Which is likely.

"I've met plenty of gods and their judgement often leaves a lot to be desired," she comments. "You wouldn't be the first one I had to punch because they started getting dumbshit ideas, either."

[Earl of Purple]

Trial of the Firebird

Harriet doesn't sweat in the heat, adapting to it comfortably and barely noticing it. "You're not God. You're just a delusional gigantic fire-breathing chicken." Which, Harriet has to admit, sounds reasonably impressive. "I've been to a god before, they were much bigger. And their hostility was impersonal and came a lot closer to actually killing me, even though they didn't notice I was there or even wake up." Harriet was a lot more mortal, then, and nearly froze to death simply from the cold they emanated. If it weren't for Magdalene, she would have died there.

[Murkus]

Hog Heaven

There are all kinds of weapons in the racks and bins. Poleaxes, short axes, swords of every size, enough varieties of polearm to give a weapons enthusiast conniptions, padded clubs and bludgeons, and on and on. Many are indeed entirely wooden, but there's metal in there as well, the edges blunted or dull. It's not hard to imagine still seriously hurting someone with a bit of effort, however.

"Well I don't know about your ancestors, but I don't think mine had anything against wood," Tsumi says. "Go one, take something sharp if ya like. I'm tough. And I heal up quick." She grins.

[Clutching Pearls]

Lapis will enter the clearing to find Vargain plucking another pearl from a high branch. He stoops down to hand it over with great care. There was no apparent movement between his last position and this one. Though perhaps someone like Lapis won't find that so strange.

"Not correct," says the tall man. "I've never heard it put better. It isn't Right. Do you think it can be put right, Lapis?"

"Mister Wenomir? And who's that?" he asks kindly. "A friend?"

[Ironsmith]

Forsaken Cathedral
Miranda hasn't tried to do this much, has she?
Sekhmet is relatively easy to contact, because she's powerful. It feels like Miranda is pushing her thoughts into an empty, fuzzy void. If Charcoal is out there somewhere, she's too far to hear.
Let me, uh, patch you through. Sure, she could send the message herself, but Sekhmet believes she shouldn't pull the wind out of her friend's sails. Miranda? I'm fine, I'm hiding. Get yourselves out and come back for me after dark.

[Forsaken Cathedral]

Miranda lets out a quiet sigh of relief. Good, good. Charcoal will be fine for the moment.

Okay. We'll be back a little after dusk. Don't you dare let yourself get caught in the meantime.

And with that, she grabs ahold of the demon queen's forearm, for ease of transport back to the Scorching Depths. Here's hoping the rest of the day goes smoothly.

[Junkyard]

Wenomir stops in his tracks and jumps back, swinging his sword in front of him. This seems to actually push the explosion back for a split-second, enough for him to get clear. However, Zeeland did manage to put some distance.

"Try to slow him down or stop him," he says in a quiet voice into his communicator, hoping that Mia, Eun and Khafir have a trick up their sleeves.

[Junkyard]

"I would love to, but unfortunately, chemical weapons are not going to be very effective against him, and we did not enter this encounter with physical firepower in mind." Khafir's voice comes back through the communicator. "We may be able to incapacitate him via other means, which I believe was the plan in the first place. But unless you want us to set up a high-yield explosive, Doctor Bu and I would contribute more to the success of this operation through inaction."

"...I, um... have to agree with her on this one. Sorry, commander." Eun's voice follows shortly after, with an anxious undercurrent to it. Wenomir might already be able to tell that she's still going to be ruminating on that response this time next week.

[Hraithre]

[Trial of the firebird]

"Oh? And just who are you, to put your opinions above those of gods?", the booming voice begins inquiring from Hiep, but Harriet interjects.

"Foolish human. At no point have I claimed to be God Itself", the voice rumbles. "I am merely an enforcer of their will. Not that it puts you in any better position. Unless you claim to know the will of God better than me?"

[Morty]

[Trial of the firebird]

"I was chosen by Mercury, the Maiden of Journeys," Hiep says, sounding serious for once. "That gives me authority and enough power in my fists to back it up. And you are just a puffed-up spirit who likes passing judgement."

[Keeper]

A Careful Afternoon Jog

G'nichi doesn't just take jogs willy-nilly anymore.
When G'nichi takes a jog he comes with a full pack of gear and a GPS tracker specifically for the kids to call the authorities if he's not back within 24 hours.
Because yeah, these things keep happening and he just has to expect it at this point.
The qaglin is on HIGH ALERT for trouble as he takes his exercise. Because there's always trouble.

[Rebonack]

[Clutching Pearls]

Lapis, with equal care, takes the pearl and adds it to her collection. She isn't very concerned with the odd movement. Curious, yes. But that doesn't matter much. Many people can move oddly in the Nexus. That's just the way that it is.

More important than that are the questions.

"I think so," Lapis says definitively. "But not all at once. If it were made Correct all at once then it wouldn't be the world anymore. It would be a different thing so that's why we have to do lots of little things and together lots of little things can make a big thing and if all those little things are enough then the world won't be unfair anymore!"

And then.

Maybe.

Lapis won't have to worry about her friends rotting from the inside out until they gradually perish.

Dying you shall die.

Lapis wades through a large bush full of butterflies that scatter at her presence, fluttering away in all directions in a rainbow of flashing wings. Another tree pearl caught her eye and she's moving toward it now.

"Mister Wenomir is one of the Commanders at VIGIL he's the BEST at swords," Lapis helpfully informs the odd man. And oh!

There's the pearl now!

But...

A MONKEY has it! A funny looking monkey. With softly glowing blue fur and bright magenta glowing skin and four huge eyes that look like they belong to a toad and some silly grabby tail things growing out of its back and Lapis really isn't sure why she thought it was a monkey at all to begin with.

"Hello monkey I need that pearl," she informs that alien primate.

The primate hoots at her loudly and spins several times around the branch its clinging to.


[Neon Bunker]

Descend.

The elevator comes to a rest in a huge, cube shaped room made of once pristine white panels. Some are broken. Others are scuffed. A few have fallen off, revealing an impossible tangle of conduits below. Laying slumped at the far side of the room is... a thing. Vaguely person shaped. With an articulated mechanical arm attached to its back with a mess of wires hanging limp. Around its head buzz a small swarm of glowing machines. Tiny things. Maybe the size of a sparrow. It regards the interlopers impassively with huge, black eyes.

Khannie frowns at the sight.

"This doesn't look like much of a boss."

It looks...

Sad.

And broken.


[A Careful Afternoon Jog]

The careful part is important.

Because trouble seems to find G'Nichi with all the preternatural accuracy of an arrow fired by the goddess of the hunt.

He doesn't get shot by a divine arrow.

Not yet anyway.

But as he's jogging along a back country road he'll find a rather odd sight. Namely? A large group of very angry looking villagers surrounding a wagon and yelling at its owner. Judging from the large block letters on the wagon's canvas cover this must be Janis and the contents must be snake oil, given that it says 'Janis' Quality Snake Oil'.

Apparently the villagers weren't familiar with that particular turn of phrase, because if they WERE there's a good chance they would have figured out that something is up before buying the swindler's products.

"We want our money back!"
"YEAH! Your snake oil didn't do a damn thing!"
More angry shouts, some more incoherent than others.

"Now now," Janis says, motioning to calm down with his hands. "You all signed the deal, remember? All sales final."

[Keeper]

A Careful Afternoon Jog

Well this does beat the temples appearing out of nowhere or the fog trying to kill him immediately.
G'nichi can't help but walk up to the stand to eavesdrop on the villagers' conversation.
Of course the problem with this plan is that G'nichi is seven and a half feet tall, with huge dragon wings and a deep red and green color scheme.
He's hard to miss.

[Rebonack]

[A Careful Afternoon Jog]

G'Nichi IS rather noticeable.

What with being very large.

And selectively fluffy.

Those gathered still aren't paying that much attention to him. Yet.

"To hell with the contract!"
"Yeah, you said the snake oil would keep the bugs away from the silos! They didn't even care!"

The angry mob is closing the circle and Janis is looking increasingly nervous.

"Now now, as they say results may vary. We wouldn't want to do anything hasty now just because ONE batch of my all purpose snake oil didn't quite meet your expectations," the crooked salesman says, tugging at his collar a bit as he sweats.

[bc56]

Forsaken Cathedral
Sekhmet nods, reluctantly, and opens a portal, and by the time the mob enters the tent, they're gone.
viewtopic.php?t=50&start=180

Neon Bunker
"It is dying," Kothar lowers his axe. As far as he can tell, there's no need for it. If the "boss" wants to attack, it may. Just because his weapon is down doesn't mean he isn't ready.

[Keeper]

A Careful Afternoon Jog

G'nichi leans in to the nearest villager.
"You folks having a bug problem? Or a Bug problem?"
Because sometimes Bug is a slang for "really large chitinous thing that could eat someone."

[Rebonack]

[Neon Bunker]

"You a-a-a-re not authorized personnel," the machine says as our heroes approach it, a stutter in its electronic voice.

"We're here to shut down the weapons this place is making. They're running around up on the surface and hurting people," Khannie declares to the robot, certainty in her voice.

"This facility must create weapons pursuant of the war against The Enemy," the machine responds, scarcely able to move itself.

"There IS no enemy! Whatever that dumb war was about? Everyone fighting it is dead. No one's left. It's just a big forest," Khannie retorts.

"Impossible. This unit has not received the stand-down order," the machine states definitively.

Sounds like an impasse.


[A Careful Afternoon Jog]

The villager is unlikely to know the difference between bug and Bug. Is the inflection different? Like a bug problem or a BUG problem? Regardless of the answer there he gives G'Nichi a look up and down.

"The critters have been showing up every year now and gobbling up a bunch of the grain we've got stored out in the silos. We've tried everything to get rid of 'em but they're tough a lots of of 'em. Great big things!"

He holds his hands apart, indicating something the size of a large rat or a small rabbit.

"Well, great big for bugs, y'know? Normally locusts and the like are pretty small. But these things are big and ill-tempered. There's this cave we're thinking they nest in, but they get REALLY aggressive when anyone gets close! This swindler said his snake oil would force 'em to stay away!"

[Earl of Purple]

Trial of the Firebird

"I am Harriet, of Vault One-Twenty, Marked by Hyperion. I survived a visit to the Hart of the Forest, and you might be the biggest monster I've fought, but you aren't the first or even the scariest." That'd be the spider-dragon that literally weaponised fear and terror to try and get Harriet to stop stabbing it. Hint: That didn't work.

[Hraithre]

[Trial of the firebird]

"An empty accusation. An executioner does not pass judgement, they simply carry it out", the voice rumbles in response to Hiep. "If you believe your Maiden is more worthy speaker for the divine will, seek the man in crimson. With him you can test your faith and see if it is correct."

[Keeper]

A Careful Afternoon Jog

"Just large bugs? If you want I could take a look and spray some fire in there.
I could maybe get some good guards for you but they'd only be available for a day or two."
Which is to say that G'nichi doesn't think he could convince the Hounds to be able to sit still for more than two nights even if fey hounds are notoriously good at guarding things when they want to.

[Rebonack]

[A Careful Afternoon Jog]

"Could you?" the villager asks. "You aren't some kind of itinerant hero, are you? If you could do some heroing for our village we would be grateful. We don't have much we could offer as payment but I'm sure we could spare something."

What would a bunch of farmers have to offer G'Nichi, anyway?

Maybe a bunch of chicken eggs? Those have been hard to come by of late, what with the chicken rebellion that's going on at the moment. Who knows when that might be resolved?

"I can show you the way to the cave, if you like. Just be careful! Those bugs are really ornery."

[Keeper]

A Careful Afternoon Jog

"Calling oneself a hero is rather arrogant, but I am a paladin of Bahamut. If you could spare me a hot meal and something for all the stings I'm likely to have in an hour that will probably be fine." replies the paladin with a wave of a hand. Monetary and trade rewards are not necessary to a right and proper hero. But he expects to be in a lot of pain soon.

And speaking of pain, on the way G'nichi will have to call home and let the hounds know he's on a quest and to come looking for him if he's not back in a day or two.