VIGIL 4: Swordfights!!! on Air

[Ashen Lilies]

The Skybase has NPC lookouts who will offer transportation to any not obviously hostile people attempting to get to the surface. This process can be completely handwaved, unless there's a very important plot reason not to.


https://drive.google.com/uc?id=0BxdIVQZ2SgvMczBqRUxWenhHU2c

Whereas GLoG concerns itself with redeeming evil-doers (and healing the sick and sheltering refugees etc.) and AMEN is evildoers, VIGIL takes a more neutral approach. VIGIL doesn’t concern itself with good or evil, but with kicking people who need to be kicked. It is dedicated to preventing threats to the Nexus, both massive-scale and small-scale, from muggers and exploding taverns to apocalypsoi and demonic invasions. Of course, given that evil-doers tend to be the ones who cause those things, VIGIL tends to be pitted against the forces of evil more often than not, but it doesn’t care that they’re evil, just that they’re causing trouble. Calling it a 'Good' organization is likely to draw the ire of some of the more morally relative members around. Maybe. Some members do call it a Good organization. This is because it is formed from the merging of the two organizations, WATCHTOWER and HALO. Both were similar in that they fought off those who need to be fought. But then certain elements of HALO turned around and walked away because... reasons? It's awfully confusing, but there's no real reason to care about it, so I'm not gonna!

VIGIL is an organization that exists to stop some bad things from happening. No one is entirely sure which ones, or why.

Oh, and also their base done got blowed up by demons. It was terribly inconvenient.



Current VIGIL Locations: (PLEASE USE LOCATION TAGS IN THIS THREAD OR I WILL SHOW UP IN YOUR BASEMENT IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT AND SHANK YOU).

[Felandria's House] (Temp Secondary Vigil HQ)

A giant-sized house for a giant-sized demi-goddess. Vigil is currently using this location as a temporary headquarters until a new base can be found or constructed. Likely to serve as a hub for all many Vigil activities for the near future until the Skybase is officially complete.

[Vigil Safehouse - Inside/Skyside]

A pair of safehouses, located in Inside and Skyside. The Vigil safehouses from the outside look like ordinary, unattractive worn-down apartment blocks, though they are equipped with a heavy door and security systems to prevent entry to non-Vigil members. Inside there are beds, toilet and bathing facilities, and enough supplies and equipment to last about a dozen members each for several months. Intended to be used as temporary staging bases so that Vigil can still operate semi-normally while in hiding, but light on electronic equipment, in order to avoid detection.

[Vigil Ruins]

The old base, located on a cliff-side above the lake. Done got blowed up by demons. They're still there, probably.

[Vigil Skybase] (Official Vigil HQ)

Vigil's new base, currently under construction atop a flying island hijacked from the Hunting Grounds. The island as of yet lacks propulsion, and is currently parked near Felandria's house.

The portion of the base on the surface of the island consists of several complexes red stone buildings ringing a basin towards the upper end of the island. Flanked by several peaks, the basin serves as a natural shelter to the surface structures of the Vigil base, and is bisected by a narrow lake that flows into a river towards the lower end of the island. Plentiful footpaths crisscross the various complexes that make up the Vigil base, along with a one-way monorail that runs the length of the valley, allowing for rapid transit from one end of the base to another.

The Academy
Placed strategically at the head of the valley, the Academy serves as a main hub for the base, splitting the two halves of the basin with a complex of several large stone structures. The largest of these structures is the Library, which contains numerous books on magic as well as the theory of warfare and martial arts; some saved from the wreckage of the former Vigil base, others new additions donated by Vigil members or the organization’s various benefactors. The Library also contains several Labs well suited to conducting magical and scientific research, map rooms for strategic planning, and a telescope observatory at the top of a tower for star-gazing. Flanking the Library are the main Armory and Clinic, as well as buildings containing indoor Training Facilities, and elevators and tunnels to the interior and underside of the island. The Library foyer and Academy courtyard also serves as a useful Reception for new visitors to the base.

The Training Grounds
Taking up an entire half of the basin on one side of the lake, the Training Grounds serve as the main point-of-call for any open-air practice Vigil members should wish to conduct. Separate facilities include a running track; arenas for dueling and swordplay; a shooting and archery range; areas for jousting; and other such facilities for martial pursuits.

The Upper Village
On the opposite side of the lake to the training grounds is the Upper Village, where the majority of Vigil members will make their residence. The Upper Village is primarily populated by large stone halls. Living space prioritizes economy over luxury, with large barrack halls splitting their space equally between intimately sized single rooms and larger bunkrooms for members that value their privacy a little less. Centered in between these barrack halls are a central plaza and some community buildings, including a mess hall, gym and recreational building, tennis courts and basketball hoops, laundry buildings, and a large bathhouse with group and individual baths. Close to the lake are several fenced-off gardens and open grassy areas ideal for outdoor sports, and the lakeside has a rather nice sandy beach. Magical landscaping is convenient like that.

Commanders’ Village
A little ways uphill from the Upper Village, a set of overlooking terraces set into the mountainside are home to some modest two-story houses. These houses are space provided to the current commanders of Vigil, and each have their own amenities including kitchen, several bedrooms, and plenty of space for studies, workrooms, armories, or shrines to one’s own magnificence.

The Lower Village
Further down the valley, near its foot where the lake narrows into a river that flows out of the basin, is the Lower Village, partially secluded from the rest of the base amidst the valley walls and the start of the woods that cover the rest of the island. The Lower Village has small, separate houses with their own gardens and more privacy compared to the communal living spaces of the Upper Village.

Emergency Monorail
This stone railway along runs from the Lower Village, through the Upper Village, up towards the Academy. Runes placed at intervals along the railway allow for the summoning of a magic platform that moves rapidly in one direction up towards the Academy, making it useful for emergencies or other times when expedience is required.


Command/Combat Information Center
Located deep within the heart of the island, this easily defensible underground complex could serve as a future command center for Vigil operations. As of right now, it’s sparsely furnished with a few offices including some larger offices for Vigil’s command staff, a mainframe room, and a pair of video conferencing rooms.

Battle Clinic
Less luxuriously equipped than the main surface clinic, this clinic’s central underground location makes it an ideal spot for emergency treatment in the heat of battle.

Vaults
Underground vaults for the storage of possible artifacts and items of apocalyptic or near-apocalyptic importance. Currently very empty.


Airship Gantry
Carved into the underside of the island is a cavernous open-air hanger, crisscrossed by bridges and hanging platforms. As of yet, a pair large skyships built for hauling cargo currently occupies the interior, in addition to a small flotilla of yacht-sized skyskiffs for transport. Given Vigil’s past history with flying devices of all sorts, it’s likely to become the home for many more in the future. An upside-down tower near the entrance to the hanger serves as an air-traffic control of sorts, as well as a command tower with communications linked to the other exterior observation towers.

Skyship Reference (http://img14.deviantart.net/a9cf/i/2015/123/9/6/skyship_by_bryansyme-d299rd7.jpg) (bulkier, with less weaponry)

Skyferry Reference (http://img11.deviantart.net/f75a/i/2013/077/0/e/fantasy_airship_by_yuchenghong-d5yj5xy.jpg) (less fancy, no propellers)

Observation Towers
Upside-down towers dot the underside of the island at various point, providing lookout points for sentries to observe the land below, as well as a possible platform for defensive or siege weapons to be mounted in the future.


CURRENT LEADERS (talk to these guys if you need help - of the regular kind, not psychiatric help. They're not qualified for that.)
- Wenomir
- Cessie Mithar

Previous Threads



WATCHTOWER 1: I can see my house from here! (http://tinyurl.com/2729fxq) 07/09/2009 - 13/12/2009
WATCHTOWER 2: Who Watches the WATCHTOWER? (http://tinyurl.com/28pakhb) 13/12/2009 - 09/05/2010
WATCHTOWER 3: Big Brother is WATCHing You. (http://tinyurl.com/2esov6k) 09/05/2010 - 30/07/2010
WATCHTOWER 4: Doing Nothing, With Style (since 2009) (http://tinyurl.com/2dh9rdc) 30/07/2010 - 12/09/2010
WATCHTOWER 5: 100 Rooms of DOOOM! (http://tinyurl.com/29je9eq) 12/09/2010 - 14/11/2010
WATCHTOWER 6: Like Justice League, but ON LAAAND! (http://tinyurl.com/6xbjxee) 14/11/2010 - 17/01/2011
WATCHTOWER 7: In the Face of Overwhelming Adversity, we Break Things. (http://tinyurl.com/4d7yhmc) 17/01/2011 - 13/03/2011
WATCHTOWER 8: It's Curtains for You! (http://tinyurl.com/3jbsal6) 13/03/2011 - 09/04/2011
WATCHTOWER 9: The Impenetrable Thread. (http://tinyurl.com/3e2jb32) 09/04/2011 - 28/05/2011
WATCHTOWER 10: All Out of Bubblegum (http://tinyurl.com/3oqe54l) 28/05/2011 - 28/06/2011
WATCHTOWER's 11: Fighting Apocalypses Through Childbearing (http://tinyurl.com/3lumemd) 28/06/2011 - 19/08/2011
WATCHTOWER 12: Maturity Optional (http://tinyurl.com/82f48ha) 19/08/2011 - 4/10/2011
WATCHTOWER the 13th (http://tinyurl.com/8455exs) 4/10/2011 - 18/11/2011
WATCHTOWER 14: Now a Family Business. (http://tinyurl.com/7nb5rve) 18/11/2011 - 14/05/2012
WATCHTOWER 15: New and Improved! (http://tinyurl.com/9jr82nt) 14/05/2012 - 10/10/2012
WATCHTOWER 16: Quick and Dirty (http://tinyurl.com/lpqajmd) 11/10/2012 - 13/08/2013
WATCHTOWER 17: Through Cloud, Shadow, Earth, and Flesh. (http://tinyurl.com/nk4vzh5) 13/08/2013 - 04/07/2014

WATCHTOWER and HALO Unification Tournament (http://tinyurl.com/ocwl8lx)

VIGIL I: We don't have a cool title yet... (http://tinyurl.com/nfujbkx)
VIGIL II: All Our Base Are Belong to... Who? (http://tinyurl.com/p8d3c22)
VIGIL 3: Uh... can we get a mulligan? (https://tinyurl.com/guqam69)




Conflict is great! It's the heart of any story, and there isn't much to roleplay without it. However, no randomly destroying the place, or doing something to it that'll produce a similar effect (for example, no placing a massive time freeze on the entire area forever). You're allowed to damage it, but destroying it just takes the fun out of it for all the other players. If you do want to run a plot in which a base or the whole organization gets destroyed, though, feel free to run your idea through OoC to see if other people like it and are willing to roleplay it out!
No godmoding/godmodding. It's not permitted in other ACRONYMs, and it isn't in VIGIL. The occasional mishap's OK, repeated offense isn't.
Please try and keep posts longer than one or two lines of speech. Description is appreciated. One-or-two-liners that don't do much are OK once in a while - but not regularly.
If you want random smashy hahaN00BlulzFun, here's not the place. Anything spammy, random, or just plain annoying, can go! Of course, if your silliness is in moderation and well-roleplayed, and considerate of other players, then welcome in.
Romance/Fanservice/Secks/WOOHOO!/Whateveryawannacallit is acceptable here, but remember to curtain once it goes past the snuggling stage, and be aware that there may be IC repercussions for dropping the curtain whenever you're online, as this is a thread with a mission. And said mission does not involve ******* like rabbits.

[Ionbound]

[VIGIL Skybase]

"Hey, I'm not judging, save that for you opponent. He should be in that command center." She pauses, her right eyebrow raising. "I guess I could show you there." She starts strolling up the village. "Just don't touch anything, they're big on security around here."

Illveria nods and says, "I'd appreciate that, thanks. And I won't. No point in picking a pointless fight with whatever kind of guards a flying island has."

[RyanKoopa]

[Vigil Skybase]

Whenever Wenomir gets a moment to himself, he may notice something's off... It feels like someone is watching him, perhaps has been for sometime and he simply was too busy to notice before. If he focuses hard he may notice the presence feels an awful lot like the Cuthun demons.

[Shadowcaller]

[VIGIL Skybase==>Command Center]

"Mmhmm..." Is Anika's only reply before she will lead Illveria to Wenomir's home and knock on the door. Hopefully Wenomir was home.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase - Training Grounds]

Wenomir was currently doing sword drills while balanced on a narrow pole. When he gets the feeling something is watching him, he freezes in place and looks around.

[Commanders' Village]

The swordsman is currently walking there, unarmoured and unarmed. He raises an eyebrow when he sees Anika approach with someone unfamiliar.

[Command Center]

Wenomir keeps his face carefully blank as the MagClone explains himself.

"I appreciate your honesty. I truly do. That you didn't try to weasel-talk your way out suggests you really aren't Magtok. Is the Faction solely composed of Magtok's former clones?"

[Ionbound]

[Command Center]

Illveria steps back from the door as the man exits, then looks at Anika and says, "Shall we?" gesturing to the now-open door.

[Shadowcaller]

[Commander's Village]

Anika gestures towards Wenomir. "Yep, that's him alright, Wenomir. Can't guarantee you will get your duel though. You're like the fifth woman he duels, or so I heard."

Command Center

That... was odd. She had never really grasped the full concept of clones, nor had she been around Magtok enough to really recognize him like this. Not that this really was Magtok. "So it sounds like you're wanting to seperate yourself from him. Yet now you're involving yourself in these power schemes, why is that? And why Southside in particular?"

[Lord Magtok]

Command Center

"Most of us are clones. There's a few notable exceptions, but I'm not allowed to say much on that subject, for security reasons. Secret weapons and tactics held back for emergencies, that sort of thing. Once we get settled in Southside, we'll probably start hiring a few outsiders, expand our organization a bit," 'Isaac' answers, adjusting his helmet as he calms down a tad. They're not jumping down his throat for being a MagClone, surprisingly, which makes this a whole lot easier than Command ever expected.

"I don't really think of it as a scheme. We've got funds, we have weapons, we have technology. Too many of the world's rich and powerful are content to just sit on what they have, to just laze around and bask in their own good fortune. We have a better idea in mind. Southside is weak, and its warlords are small and few enough that we have a real chance of uniting the district. Our dream is to move on from a bright, shining Riverside years from now, and do the same kind of work in Skyside's worst districts, to help them become a little less horrifying, but that's a long-term goal, and not one we're sure we'll ever have the resources to attempt."

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria tilts her head and says, "Really? That's him?" She shrugs, then calls out, "You there! With the facial scars! I challenge you to a duel, with swords, under the Prince Charles du Fantailler rules of dueling!"

[Morty]

[Command Center]

Wenomir shakes his head.

"If I had a penny for everyone I've heard this spiel from... I really don't see how we can give them our support based on vague promises," he says, turning to Cessie.

[Commanders' Village]

Wenomir stops, and looks at Ilveria for a long while before speaking.

"Any particular reason you want to duel me? I don't remember ever insulting your honour."

[Shadowcaller]

[Command Center]

"What about they actually prove it to us first and we can give our support to them if they actually prove to be a force of good? That way we could technically handle other factions and organizations the same way." Cessie suggests to Wenomir.

[Commander's Village]

"Yeah, he's human just like you. What were you expecting?" Anika asks as she strolls after her. She wasn't really expecting a reply consider the fact that the metaphorical glove just had been thrown.

[Lord Magtok]

Command Center

"No. This is a one-time offer. VIGIL's backing is meant to intimidate those who would prey upon our weakness. Your support is of no use to us after our mission is complete," the clone shakes his head, as he stands up out of his seat and marches towards the door. He checks his watch again as he walks away, pressing his other hand against the side of his helmet. Command may have said they had a Plan B if this didn't pan out, but they're definitely not going to be happy to hear this.

[RyanKoopa]

[Vigil Skybase - Training Grounds]
Sparks begin to appear in the air behind Wenomir, and he hears a faint noise reminiscent of static. Slowly a glowing white tear appears in the air, forming a sort of misshapen doorway. The presence behind it watches intently, curious to see if the swordsman will take the risk and enter.

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria laughs at the idea of Wenomir having insulted her honor and says, "Is that why people duel around here? That's strange. Where I am from, people duel to first blood to hone their skills. At least that's how it goes with swords. Friend of mine is the best chef around and she barely gets to make a living between all the cook-offs she gets challenged to. But I digress. If you're the best swordsman around here, I want to duel you so I can see where I stand compared to you."

[Morty]

[Command Center]

Wenomir shrugs.

"In this case, I think this is too much of a gamble."

[Vigil Skybase - Training Grounds]

Wenomir doesn't have the habit of walking through strange portals that appeared near him out of nowhere. Instead, he calls for anyone who might be available and able to analyse a portal.

[Commander's Village]

"The best swordsman? Some would say so," Wenomir says. "It brings no shortage of people who want to test themselves against me. Do you think yourself worthy of squaring off against the best?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Command Center]

Cessie nods and then turns to watch Isaac leave. "As you wish then. Too bad we couldn't come to an agreement."

[Commander's Village]

Anika watches the two with her arms crossed over her chest. Were they gonna have a sword-off or not? It was the most exciting thing happening right now so she might as well stay and watch.

[Lord Magtok]

Command Center => Hangar

"Too bad. London, this is Ja-yeah, it's over. They're not interested, so we're going home. Prep the hovercopter, and tell Command that I need-" We'll never find out what Isaac was going to say he needs, because just as he steps through the door into the hangar, the hovercopter violently explodes. A massive plume of fire rises up from beneath the aircraft, instantly vaporizing the pilot who was still sitting inside. Just a moment ago, there was less than three dozen clones in The Faction, and only three operational hovercopters. Now one of their best is dead, and they're down to just the two copters. Isaac stares in horror for a moment or so, struggling to comprehend how or why this could possibly be happening, before his survival instincts kick in, pushing him to take action. He bursts into a sprint, drawing his sidearm and turning his upper body towards Wenomir and Cessie in one fluid motion, as his boots clatter across the hangar floor, carrying him away from VIGIL's leaders.

He screams something at the duo, something about hypocrisy and betrayal and righteous fury, but it's hard to hear over the roaring fire, or the barrage of bright orange lasers he fires in their general direction. It's not the most well-aimed fusillade of lasers, since he's running in the opposite direction at the same time, but I'd still try to avoid getting hit by those if I were you. Just because his main priority is to escape doesn't mean he's completely harmless.

[Morty]

[Hangar]

The few laser bolts that manage to land in Wenomir's direction are deflected by his sword as it leaps out of the scabbard. He bows his head and takes off at lightning speed towards Isaac, zig-zagging to avoid more fire. Once he's close, he suddenly spins around the clone, and tries to strike him in the elbow with the pommel of his sword, to make him drop the gun.

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria grins and says, "I think so, yeah. I'm a hell of a swordswoman, and while I'm not the best where I come from, I'm pretty close. And forgive me for saying this, but I figure that you guys just aren't quite the same as the people where I'm from."

[Shadowcaller]

[Hangar]

Cessie's eyes widens as the explosion unfolds before her. Were they under attack? Sabotage? Her train of though is interrupted by Isaac suddenly shooting at them. A shield of hardened eldtich magma appears block the shots aimed at her.
But she wasn't interested in following Isaac, she knew Wenomir could handle that. Instead she moves closer to the ship, attempting to detect any power-readings f a potential magical bomb. She knew the demons used those so if it had been something else, she could at least cut them off the list of suspects. Meanwhile, she would be calling in people to put out the fire. They had been unable to save the people inside, but they couldn't risk letting the fire spread.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Hangar]

The hangar's ground crew are pretty on top of their game. But they're not going to walk into a shootout. The hangar's sprinkler system activates immediately, dousing the area over and around the exploded helicopter, but any nearby ground crew immediately duck for cover.

The hangar doors begin to close as well, as the people in the flight control tower order a lockdown, which likely adds to the confusion. The hangar doors aren't terribly sturdy or armored, being essentially glorified, giant-sized horizontal garage doors. But it's quite a long drop down out of the hangar anyway.

[Deathkeeper]

Training Grouds

Spako arrives quickly, not dressed in his combat gear but at least carrying his two artifact weapons (though only one of them looks like one).
"Hiya sir, this what you asked about?" Spako says, giving Wenomir a salute.

[Morty]

[Commander's Village]

"Really, now. And what makes us so different? I believe you've caught my curiosity. And for that, you'll have your duel," Wenomir says. "First blood, you said? Should I go change into my armour?"

[Training Grouds]

"Yes. I felt like I was being watched, and then this appeared," the swordmaster explains briefly.

[Lord Magtok]

Hangar

"Bloody backstabbing ****! WHY?! I told you we're not Magtok!" The gun hits the floor, but that's not enough to stop Isaac. He aims a foot towards Wenomir's gut, and tries to push the swordsman away. He needs just a few inches of space, enough to safely disengage and make a break for the hangar doors. They won't take him like they took London. The Faction can not, will not falter.

As for the hovercopter itself, there's not a whiff of magic anywhere near it. Nothing more than the usual background radiation that comes from flying through the Nexus, anyways. No clear sign as to what caused the massive explosion, but that riddle might be easier to solve later, when the fuel tank isn't actively burning away.

[Deathkeeper]

[Training Grouds]

"Yes. I felt like I was being watched, and then this appeared," the swordmaster explains briefly.

Training Grounds

Spako nods and walks over to the portal. He walks all the way around it, carefully placing runes. For now, he's just trying to tell if there's any sort of active spells coming out of the portal.

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria laughs at Wenomir again and says, "Well, if you were like us, you'd accept the duel without thought. We fight for fun, after all. Just to get better at things. And solve disputes. It's handy, really. You got a problem with someone? Challenge them to a fight. You want to get better at something? Challenge the master so you can learn from being beaten. And so on. You get the idea, right? As for armor, well, it'd hardly be fair if you weren't, right?" She cracks a grin, then says, "Heavy as you like. I'm sure I can find a chink somewhere."

[Shadowcaller]

[Commander's Village]

Anika sits down on the ground, a fair distance from them both, and starts watching. "It'll be a bit of training at least, right? That's what you were doing anyway." She argues to Wenomir.

[Hangar]

Yes, Cessie's priority will be to put out the fires. Though if she had waited too long, those eldritch energies might have disappeared and she would have been unable to detect anything. Now she can at least rule that out.
The sorceress will summon a bubble of cold eldritch around the fuel tank, while it is not her strongest element, it might just be enough to shield it from the flames to keep it from blowing up.

[Morty]

[Hangar]

Isaac's foot connects with Wenomir's gut, but the cyborg was probably hoping for a stronger reaction. The swordmaster grunts, but cedes no ground. Instead, he grabs Isaac's leg with his free hand and tries to flip him over on his back.

"We didn't blow it up, idiot! You're being played!"

[Commander's Village]

"If she's as good as she claims, it should be a decent workout," Wenomir says, as he heads to his house. He returns soon, wearing armour that's anything but heavy. It's just a short mail shirt worn over a padded jacket, with Vigil's surcoat on top. He takes place in front of Illveria, and puts his left hand to his chest, while reaching out towards her with his sword. "Ready when you are."

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria nods and says nothing as she drops into a classic en garde as she draws her basket-hilted saber. As she does both of these, her eyes take an amber glint, and Wenomir might feel a subtle foreign presence in his mind as Illveria tries to make a psionic connection with him.

[Lord Magtok]

Hangar

"The peasant trying to murder me with a sword says I'm being played. Uh huh," Isaac jabs, hoping his barbs are just enough of a distraction to keep Wenomir's eyes off his hands. After all, knocking Isaac to the ground just means his sidearm is within his reach once more. He quickly grasps the weapon with both hands and points it at Wenomir, but doesn't fire. Not yet, at least. "Listen, I'm going to set this gun to its stun setting, and fire. If you're really not responsible for any of this, you'll take the hit and it'll give me a chance to get out alive without anyone suspecting you helped me. We can meet on neutral territory and solve this riddle later, when your pyromancer isn't around and casting spells to cover up whatever she did to my aircraft," Isaac offers, before pulling the trigger. His gun doesn't actually have a stun setting, but what Wenomir doesn't know, can't hurt hi-oh wait, yes it can. Uh oh.

Elsewhere, the hovercopter's flames have been contained. It's too late to save the hovercopter and its pilot, but at least things shouldn't get worse than they already are.

[Zefir]

[Vigil Skybase - Training Grounds]

Mia will answer his call telling him she will be there asap.
It only needs a minute or two befor Wenomir can see her. She is wearing her high priest robe, a long robe with many ornaments that restrict her movement quiete a bit. Looks like she was either on her way out or just came back. She pulls a transport trolley in front of her which is loadid with several tools for the analysis, Laptop, Scanner, even a drohne with scaner and camera and some more things.

"Hey Wenomir, what's up?" she says and already starts the tools for the obviouse portal.

[Morty]

[Hangar]

Either Wenomir didn't believe Isaac, or it's reflexes taking over. Or, perhaps, the barb about a sword-wielding peasant got to him in a different way the cyborg hoped. Whatever the reason, the swordsman twists his torso aside as the weapon fires. Of course, dodging a laser point-blank isn't easy even for him, so the energy bolt glances him on the side. The armour absorbs most of the impact, but Wenomir swears and backs away a couple of steps. Isaac might find himself looking at a severed stump of his weapon, though. Wenomir's sword moved to cut it in half in a space between two blinks.

"Or you'll go tell everyone how we backstabbed you, like your superiors probably expected you to," he says through gritted teeth. "Will you - ugh - stab yourself and tell people I did it?"

[Vigil Skybase - Training Grounds]

"That's what I hope we can find out," Wenomir tells Mia. "This portal just appeared next to me."

[Commander's Village]

The psionic connection will have trouble establishing itself in Wenomir's mind. Now that he's getting ready for battle, it's achieving razor-sharp focus on the task at hand, and trying to connect to it is like finding your way through a layer of solid steel.

The swordsman then goes on the offensive, closing his distance and trying to push Illveria's sword aside, then following it up with a downwards chop from above his shoulder.

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria blinks, caught off guard by the sudden resistance, and then swears as she misses her counter-beat, allowing her sword to be knocked away and Wenomir's blade to pierce her armor and draw blood from her arm.

[Morty]

[Commander's Village]

Wenomir's sword will fall on her arm and draw blood, then, unless otherwise stopped. If it succeeds, the swordsman will step back and lower his weapon.

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria steps back and glares at Wenomir as she bleeds slightly from the arm and asks, "What is wrong with you? Do you not have a mind or something?" clearly disturbed by his steely focus.

[Morty]

[Commander's Village]

Wenomir frowns, perplexed but also suspecting what happened.

"I do have one, last time anyone checked. Did you try to affect it somehow?"

[Zefir]

[Vigil Skybase - Training Grounds]

"That's what I hope we can find out," Wenomir tells Mia. "This portal just appeared next to me."


[Vigil Skybase - Training Grounds]

Mia nods and starts the scaner. First of she tries to find out what kind of portal it is like is it magical or technologie. Also she tries to scan if the can find out where it leads like another world or just somewhere in the nexus. Her tools can detect magic as well so this schouldn't be a problem.

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria frowns, perplexed by this, and says, "I...I'm confused then. Why couldn't I reach your mind?"

[Deathkeeper]

Debate Night

Tep nods at the speeches.
"I believe it's been said well enough. Economic cooperation and trade is the best relationship possible between Eastside and the other cities in the Nexus. Major organizations willing to contribute will be welcome to cooperate and work within our borders.
I, however, draw a line at AMEN. It will not be welcome under my guidelines, because I do not negotiate with fools who blow up train stations for fun. Throwing aside lives so callously is not something that shall be overlooked. Ever." the demon says pointedly.

[5a Violista]

[Vigil Skybase]
Approaching the skybase

Grey ash is found blowing in the air. It approaches Vigil's skybase. At first, it doesn't seem significant because each individual speck of dust is pretty small and far away. However, as the ash approaches something unusual about it can be spotted: there's a large quantity of ash all blowing along the same wind current, and none of it is getting lost or scattered.

In spite of this, it continues approaching the island on a single and focused current.

Eventually, the ash blows itself to...
Northwest Peak on the Island

The ash starts to swirl. It forms a grey woman, still floating just above the ground. Her clothes are grey, her hair is grey, her skin is grey and cracked, and deep inside her grey eyes burn a dull ember. From a distance, she may look like a ghost. However, she most definitely is not one.

Her mouth smiles wide, as her skin continues to crack. She looks around the Vigil skybase. This will be fun. Also, a good chance to experiment with these Valcano rocks she has, to find their hidden powers.

She grabs a stone from her dress pocket. With a few deft motions, she draws geometric patterns on it. "In accordance with the principals of creation," she whispers to the stone, "let the hammer of eternity descend unto me."
Then, she hurls it down the mountain towards The Training Grounds below. The stone sparks as it rolls down the hill, then starts to glow. First, a dull color, before a brighter cherry, and continues to visually heat up to an orange.

Smoke pours from it, then it makes a loud *snap!*. A small explosion - no larger than a horse this time - erupts from it before the stone burns out.

[Shadowcaller]

Hangar

"The peasant trying to murder me with a sword says I'm being played. Uh huh," Isaac jabs, hoping his barbs are just enough of a distraction to keep Wenomir's eyes off his hands. After all, knocking Isaac to the ground just means his sidearm is within his reach once more. He quickly grasps the weapon with both hands and points it at Wenomir, but doesn't fire. Not yet, at least. "Listen, I'm going to set this gun to its stun setting, and fire. If you're really not responsible for any of this, you'll take the hit and it'll give me a chance to get out alive without anyone suspecting you helped me. We can meet on neutral territory and solve this riddle later, when your pyromancer isn't around and casting spells to cover up whatever she did to my aircraft," Isaac offers, before pulling the trigger. His gun doesn't actually have a stun setting, but what Wenomir doesn't know, can't hurt hi-oh wait, yes it can. Uh oh.

Elsewhere, the hovercopter's flames have been contained. It's too late to save the hovercopter and its pilot, but at least things shouldn't get worse than they already are.

Hangar

Cessie continues to slowly expanding the radius of the bubble to put out the flames. It will take a while but it would put all the flames out eventually. Wenomir could deal with Isaac on his own, hopefully.

[Recaiden]

It just so happens that around this time, some flower petals were dancing on the wind, sweeping from village to village, floating up along the monorail, and getting caught in a little whirl of wind that sent them round and around the track on the [Training Grounds]. Finally they all draw together and break apart in a puff to reveal a woman with quite a bit of color. Her skin is olive, her robes are pink, the jewels she wears shine green and gold, her eyes deep brown, the staff in her hand flashing silver.

Let's see. She was here to give something to Wenomir. Or was it to scold him about how easy it is to arrive here by magic? No, there must have been something before that. Perhaps both. Before she quite figures it out, a stone comes bouncing down the hill and explodes in smoke and fire.
Now, an onlooker might say it's just a small explosion, but she is no larger than a horse either, so it's a cause for at least a little concern.

"Hey! Be careful up there!"

In fact, it looks like she's striding up the hill to give the other rocks (and whoever disturbed them) a piece of her mind.

[Morty]

[Commander's Village]

"I've met so many psychics, mind-readers and enchanters that blocking my mind off from them is a reflex now," Wenomir explains with a shrug. "When I enter a fight, I focus and keep intrusions away. But you didn't answer my question. Why did you want to connect to it?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Commander's Village]

"She wanted to learn all your sword-fighting secrets!" Anika calls out, having apparently overheard the conversation.

[Lord Magtok]

Hangar

[Hangar]

Either Wenomir didn't believe Isaac, or it's reflexes taking over. Or, perhaps, the barb about a sword-wielding peasant got to him in a different way the cyborg hoped. Whatever the reason, the swordsman twists his torso aside as the weapon fires. Of course, dodging a laser point-blank isn't easy even for him, so the energy bolt glances him on the side. The armour absorbs most of the impact, but Wenomir swears and backs away a couple of steps. Isaac might find himself looking at a severed stump of his weapon, though. Wenomir's sword moved to cut it in half in a space between two blinks.

"Or you'll go tell everyone how we backstabbed you, like your superiors probably expected you to," he says through gritted teeth. "Will you - ugh - stab yourself and tell people I did it?"


Hangar

Cessie continues to slowly expanding the radius of the bubble to put out the flames. It will take a while but it would put all the flames out eventually. Wenomir could deal with Isaac on his own, hopefully.

"I don't need to tell them anything. This helmet's already recorded everything and transmitted it back to Command, remember?" Isaac mocks, before tossing his broken gun aside. The (metaphorical) gears in his head turn, as he continues to consider his options, and try to think up another desperate gambit to escape the swordsman. Gods know he can't possibly hope to outfight one of the Nexus's top duelists on his home turf, so the only chance of survival here lies with the diplomat's wit and willingness to play dirty. Seeing one possible avenue towards freedom, he removes his helmet, flicks a switch inside that causes it to audibly deactivate, and stares back at Wenomir with his own eyes.

"But let's pretend I believe you. Let's pretend your people don't have every excuse to murder my brother, that you don't have years and years of unfounded hatred and suspicion against my kind, even when we were liberating slaves in Skyside, leading HALO to greatness, trying to prevent the collapse of the Watchtower base, and fighting the apocalypses as hard as anyone else. Let's pretend that you haven't been trying to stop us at every turn, shouting 'villain!' whenever we've tried to do anything to help someone besides ourselves. Why should I let you take me prisoner?" Isaac asks, trying to buy some more time for his next unexpected trick.

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria smirks as she hears Anika's retort and shakes her head with the same smirk as she says, "Kinda, yeah. It's part of dueling tradition, to make psionic contact with the enemy so that your reactions have to be even faster. Are things different here?"

[Morty]

[Commander's Village]

Wenomir leans on his sword.

"Yes. Today's the first time I've ever heard of something like that. People who have psychic abilities rarely bother to learn swordfighting. And I have no such ability."

[Shadowcaller]

[Commander's Village]

Anika is walking up to them now. "Ha! I knew it! She's here to steal all your swording secrets. Its kinda what you do when you seek out people to duel isn't it? Just a lot faster."

Hangar

Cessie continues her efforts to put out the fire. Looks like Wenomir is on his own.

[Morty]

[Hangar]

"You say you're not Magtok, but you think and speak like him," Wenomir observes drily. "Always with the self-righteousness and accusations. You may go. Make your daring escape, and we'll meet later. Before I change my mind or decide you need a proper stab wound to make it believable."

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Peak]

By the time the onlooker reaches the hill's base, the witch Maria has already prepared another stone. "Be nimble," she commands the stone as she traces shapes on it. "Be quick."

The grey witch looks down into the valley again, preparing to throw it again. Maybe she should adjust her aim, to get closer to that building? Or...she spots the colorful woman who starts to come up the hill. That's a better idea.

She speaks to the stone again, but in a much louder voice this time: "Remember, Jack: fire is the devil's closest friend." Aiming at the approaching woman, she throws it in the same way one would throw a bowling ball. It quickly goes through the same color pattern as the last: dull red, then a dark cherry, then an orange-cherry color, then reaching a salmon hue. As it approaches a lemon color, the stone starts sparking. Everywhere the stone hits has a sudden burst of fire, leaving a broken trail as the stone bounces down.

This trail of fire and its descending stone approaches the bright and colorful woman.

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria shrugs, then winces as she says, "Augh...Yeah, that's sort of the idea. But it's more a matter of when both people can see the other's thoughts, it's much more...Skill-testing." She winces again, then asks, "I don't suppose you guys have bandages or something? That was...A fairly deep cut and it hurts a good deal."

[Lord Magtok]

[Hangar]

"You say you're not Magtok, but you think and speak like him," Wenomir observes drily. "Always with the self-righteousness and accusations. You may go. Make your daring escape, and we'll meet later. Before I change my mind or decide you need a proper stab wound to make it believable."

"Goodbye. Stay out of Southside," the clone warns, before picking up his helmet and jumping off the catwalk. If the hangar doors are still open, he'll be hopping through. Otherwise, he might need to carve a hole in them with some sort of machete-shaped energy blade he'd been carrying all this time. He won't be teleporting out, though. That's just not an option anymore, now that the telewarp network is gone.

[Morty]

[Hangar]

"Actually, I'm going to go on a stroll there," Wenomir says, before Isaac leaves. He'll do it, too.

[Commander's Village]

"Can you patch her up, Anika?" Wenomir asks. "Anyway, I can't read people's thoughts, so this would be a strictly one-way thing, even if I managed to let you in."

[Shadowcaller]

[Commander's Village]

"Sure thing." Anika gestures up into the air and purple energy will start to swirl around Illveria, healing whatever flesh wounds she have. "Reading people's thoughts would be really cool, though can't people who do that also lift things with their mind and turn invisible too?"

[Recaiden]

[Northwest Hills]

The woman ascending the hills watches the rock's first fire-flash bounce, and spins around once, clockwise. The wind follows, a sudden gust trying to lift the rock up, aside, and off-course to send it sailing down into the lake. Somewhere nice and cool and not-next-to-her to calm down.

"Watch for falling rocks, is it?" Not the safest flying base, is this? "Alright, double-time!" The wizard rushes up the hill, switching back from rock to path to tuft of hardy mountain grass much faster than she was moving before.
Every time she stops and turns, or hops up onto a moderately large rock, a patch of flowers sprouts up nearby, all in an instant.

She has to say, people who just fly up to a mountaintop are no fair at all. :smallannoyed:

[Ashen Lilies]

[Debate Night]

"Thank you, all. We're coming up on the end of our time, now. I'm sure each of you have prepared some closing remarks, which I'll give you each time to make, but as you do so, I'd like to also hear from you some thoughts about what this campaign has meant to you, what you've learned, and what you'll take away from the experience, even if you don't win."

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria frowns, but says, "Whatever. It's fine." She smiles as Anika cures her wound and says, "Thanks. And some people can, but...All I can do is read minds."

[Morty]

[Commander's Village]

"We can try again, if you're willing to do it without mind-reading and your wound doesn't hinder you," Wenomir says.

[Shadowcaller]

[Commander's Village]

"Huh, can you read my mind then? I can think of a number and you'll guess what it is! I'm not a duelist or anything, but I might still have some secrets!" Anika claims.

[Shadowcaller]

[VIGIL Airspace==> Reception]

A lone gargoyle enters VIGIL airspace and will land near the reception and hold up a sign reading SPAKO. It appears to be some kind of messenger.

[Deathkeeper]

Reception

Spako shows up after some calls are made, probably. He'd raise an eyebrow if he had any but instead he just asks it, "Yes?"

[Shadowcaller]

Reception

The gargoyle appear to study him for a moment before reaching into its satchel and handing over a flat-looking device. If he accepts it, a tiny illusionary lady Celestel will appear. "Ah, there we are, mister Highclaws, it is nice to see you again."

[Deathkeeper]

Reception

Spako starts and then nods, trying to salvage his dignity. "Right. Hello, Lady Celestel. I imagine you'd like to speak to my superiors about our organizations?" he asks.

[Shadowcaller]

Reception

"Actually, I would like to speak to you, one diplomat to another. You do represent VIGIL after all, don't you? Same way I represent Malechenar." The tiny Celestel replies.

[Deathkeeper]

Reception

"I suppose. What is it you wanted to talk about?" he asks, curious. How odd.

[Shadowcaller]

Reception

"A potential alliance between VIGIL and Malechenar, or at least a closer relationship between our two organizations. Unlike a lot of other organizations, we do actually take the demons who destroyed your last base seriously, and we wish to aid your organization in that struggle." Celestel explains.

[Deathkeeper]

Reception

"Well, that's good. What sort of aid can you offer? I can easily arrange a meeting with the higher-ups to get the specifics that I'm not privvy to. Or at least get that information myself." Spako offers to the holo-lady.

[Shadowcaller]

Reception

"Well, for one, insider information about what is going on in riverside. Secondly, we can set your weapons and base with enchantments by our warlocks, not to mention the other ways we could help you politically. If I'm not mistaken, you have started to getting involved with Riverside lately with the eastside election. Isn't that right?" Celestel asks.

[Deathkeeper]

Reception

"Well, that all sounds pretty good. Though, we hosted the debates and had one of our own as a moderator, but that was it. Miss Mithar specifically avoided the position as moderator because of her well-documented friendship with Miss Jezebel. So we're involved but it's not like we've taken sides." Spako responds coolly.

[Recaiden]

[Debate Night]

"Thank you, all. We're coming up on the end of our time, now. I'm sure each of you have prepared some closing remarks, which I'll give you each time to make, but as you do so, I'd like to also hear from you some thoughts about what this campaign has meant to you, what you've learned, and what you'll take away from the experience, even if you don't win."

Amyria are somewhat caught off-guard by this question, though the facial response never gets past mild surprise.
"You are welcome. I have been glad to speak here. I truly appreciate the interest of the people in the democratic process, and the chance to listen to such unusual viewpoints as we've heard here."
This campaign has been a start revelation about the selfishness of some people, the callous monstrosity of others, and the precarious state of Eastside city, constantly flirting with its own destruction. It has shown the weaknesses of the law and for the first time lit the fire of true hatred in the mayor's mind. It is a mockery of what Eastside stands for.
No, none of that will do to say.

"The city is in your hands."
That's all.

[UncleWolf]

Debate Night

Jezebel takes a silent moment to consider what she's going to say, inwardly thankful for Amyria filling that silence. Even if it sounded like they were some subtle jabs at everyone else. Once she's done speaking, she gives a nod towards the current mayor. "As she states, I am thankful for the chance to speak to so many people at once about the issues they hold dear. Before we go, I would like to once more thank everyone for being here or tuning in for the debate. I'd like to thank the other candidates and thank Vigil itself for hosting this event as well. Without you, any of you, none of this would happen. Even more importantly however is that I learned that the citizens of Eastside take this process even more seriously than I had dared to hope for. The fate of Eastside, of Riverside as a whole, will be decided by you in a short period of time and regardless of whom you vote for I am proud to consider myself among your number and to be a candidate. Thank you."

[Deathkeeper]

Debate Night

Tep gives a small, polite smile to the crowd. Any wider and he'd be baring his fangs at them and that's probably not likely to go over well.
"Yes, it has been a pleasure running in this. I thank everyone for showing up and tuning in. For after all, an informed decision is the greatest thing you can make at times like this. Indeed, we leave this all in the citizens' capable hands. I trust you all to make any of the good decisions open to you." he says, and gives a formal bow to the camera.

[Reinholdt]

[Debate Night]

What is this High School question? What have we all learned this election? This is worse than that morality question. None of Stu's debate preparations had a pre-conceived answer for this and the other candidates' answers weren't helping either. Beyond stalling for the time he needs that is.

Stu clears his non-existent throat. "When I entered this election, I expected it to be a straightforward affair. I mean who doesn't want a piece of the Stu, am I right? But while I'm out there in the streets campaigning, something really unusual occurred. Something extraordinary.

You did. Eastside happened. I met Steven, the baker, who struggles to pay the rent of his shop. I met the florist Stan, who's suffering from a messy custody battle. And there's Stacy, who thinks everything's pretty good right now but is concerned over the bee population. And so many other incredible Eastsiders I couldn't cover them all. The point is I realized that Eastside deserves more than just fat stacks of cash and beautiful people. It deserves an extra stop sign between Spring and King to cover that blind spot right next to the retirement home. It deserves funding for after school gardening programs. It deserves the best. It deserves my best. And that's what I promise to give you. Because I learned I love Eastside like only Eastsiders can.

Eastside made me a better flower, so I want to make Eastside a better city. Remember, vote Stu for YOU! Thank you!"

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

"Huh, can you read my mind then? I can think of a number and you'll guess what it is! I'm not a duelist or anything, but I might still have some secrets!" Anika claims.

Illveria smiles thinly and says, "Sure, why not." Her eyes glow with an amberish light as she reaches out to Anika's mind, multitasking as she answers Wenomir, "I guess that'd work. Still don't want to fight wounded though, especially in the arm. Ask again in a couple days."

[Morty]

[Commander's Village]

"You know where to find me," Wenomir says. He's not sure what to think about Anika willingly letting her brain be read.

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Peak]

By the time the onlooker reaches the hill's base, the witch Maria has already prepared another stone. "Be nimble," she commands the stone as she traces shapes on it. "Be quick."

The grey witch looks down into the valley again, preparing to throw it again. Maybe she should adjust her aim, to get closer to that building? Or...she spots the colorful woman who starts to come up the hill. That's a better idea.

She speaks to the stone again, but in a much louder voice this time: "Remember, Jack: fire is the devil's closest friend." Aiming at the approaching woman, she throws it in the same way one would throw a bowling ball. It quickly goes through the same color pattern as the last: dull red, then a dark cherry, then an orange-cherry color, then reaching a salmon hue. As it approaches a lemon color, the stone starts sparking. Everywhere the stone hits has a sudden burst of fire, leaving a broken trail as the stone bounces down.

This trail of fire and its descending stone approaches the bright and colorful woman.


[Northwest Hills]

The woman ascending the hills watches the rock's first fire-flash bounce, and spins around once, clockwise. The wind follows, a sudden gust trying to lift the rock up, aside, and off-course to send it sailing down into the lake. Somewhere nice and cool and not-next-to-her to calm down.

"Watch for falling rocks, is it?" Not the safest flying base, is this? "Alright, double-time!" The wizard rushes up the hill, switching back from rock to path to tuft of hardy mountain grass much faster than she was moving before.
Every time she stops and turns, or hops up onto a moderately large rock, a patch of flowers sprouts up nearby, all in an instant.

She has to say, people who just fly up to a mountaintop are no fair at all. :smallannoyed:
[Northwest Hills]

Yes, flying people is definitely the worst thing ever. Makes everything so unfair.

Maria frowns. The rock missed.
Again, she looks down at a new rock that's in her hand. She tries again, tracing new geometric patterns on it. "I am lost in thoughts of you, burning desire like fire for you," she tells it as she traces these with her finger. "Inside my veins burning intense, burning red hot with fierce flames. My every cell is calling for you. I am red hot burning for you."

The rock seems to respond to her poetry because it too begins to glow as if it heats up. Like the previous one, she hurls it down the hill toward the wizard. A thick black smoke pours out of it as it bounces down the mountain at her.

...
Then, as it gets nearly to her, the rock bursts into ash. There's no rock left, only ash: the worst it can do is if she accidentally breathes it in.

As she sees that happen, Maria growls. That wasn't supposed to happen. What went wrong? Could've it been the pattern? The incantation? The magic? The feelings? Did she grab the wrong stone? She thought she had picked out the good ones! It could've gone wrong in literally any way! How is she supposed to know how to make sure it doesn't repeat itself?

[Recaiden]

This rock's closer. But it wasn't quite so colorful, and just before the woman can whirl it away, it bursts into ash. For the next moment she's coughing.

"Do you think, perhaps, you could stop throwing explosives down here?"
It couldn't hurt to ask, right?

She's stopped not-so-far-away, and a trail of grasses and the shoots of flowers are sprouting from the mountainside beneath her feet, creeping closer and closer to Maria, each one a little bigger and more verdantly colorful than the last.

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Hills]

Frustrated that the woman has gotten so close, Maria quickly pulls out another three rocks at the same time, and frantically traces shapes onto them. She tries to make sure they have the same geometric design as the previous stone had drawn on it. This way, she can tell if the shape was what was wrong with the explosive.

As she traces on the second of the three, she responds to the request: "Can we stop all the clocks? Can we cut off the telephone? Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone? We can't silence the pianos, nor can we with muffled drum bring out the coffin. Let the mourners come."

That's a colorful response.
It seems to have no effect on the stones. Just as well; she just finished tracing that pattern on the third stone.

[Recaiden]

[Northwest Hills]

The woman tries to make sense of that. It's difficult, seeing poems twisted like that. With no coffin, what are they coming to mourn? With no reason for the explosions, even though they may be full of rhyme, can they stop? Of course as for the wizard, she can stop all the clocks, cut the telephones, silence the pianos and dogs. Make the policemen wear black gloves besides!
But would she? That's a more insightful bit.

"Your stars are not wanted now, put out every one! These lights here are lost in the flutter of a butterfly's wing."
How rude.

Sprouts and stems ring around Maria, quickly hardening into roses with all their wooden thorns. Someone who stayed in place might well become trapped in a prickly thicket.

[Shadowcaller]

[Commander's Village]

Wenomir is obviously not aware of the brilliant pranks you can play against some types of mind readers. Anika just happens to be thinking about something that needs at least three layers of curtains to shield the innocent eyes of the forum from the lewd stuff happening behind them, as Illveria reads her mind. "I was never good at duels personally, not your kind anyway." Well, in a way she is picturing a duel... just not one involving martial mastery. More one of endurance.

[Ionbound]

[Commander's Village]

Illveria's jaw slackens and her face quick turns to a bright crimson, then she shakes her head and the glow in her eyes abruptly cut. She looks at Anika in a way that she hadn't before that moment, and asks, almost timidly, "I-Do-What? Are you always thinking about...That?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Commander's Village]

Anika waves her hand dismissively as if it was no big deal. "Oh yeah, can't stop thinking about it. They call me the 'deer-tamer' back home you know?" Anika lies, pushing her hands together towards her chest. "Why? You want me to fix me up with one of them?"

[Morty]

[Commander's Village]

Wenomir coughs, in a poor attempt at masking his amusement.

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Hills]

It should be noted again that Maria the Exploding Witch, as always, is standing/floating nearly a foot above the ground. It normally ought to be harder for stems and sprouts to reach her feet, as they'd have to rise higher. However, for what appears to be no reason at all, she doesn't move from that spot.

In fact, her mouth opens but she doesn't respond. Instead, she drops the three stones back into her dress's pocket, for some arcane and unknown reason. Her grey brow furrows while she appears to think about...something. But, seriously, she's literally made of ash. Can ash even think about anything other than burning?

Then, she actually starts saying something. Eventually. "There is none left to mourn in the fields. I did not know, wandering on high, that fate had made me for the pleasure of the wind," she recites, "It seemed my god let me flutter from his gentle clasp, but that wing was broken today." Honestly, you shouldn't mind her. It seems like she's just saying things that don't mean anything to anybody. Perhaps she's gone mad?

[Recaiden]

[Northwest Hills]

Well, that will slow them down. Instead of having her nicely tangled, I bet they're only now rising high enough to tickle her ashen feet. But they do keep growing.

Now, the things the mad say often have a meaning to them (if only them). And perhaps ash can remember what it was before it burned. The wizard woman Cleo walks up a few steps along the trail of greenery and looks the witch up and down. Is there any charcoal in her?

"Oh what ails thee, maid of fire, alone and darkly drifting? The hedge unwithered from the lake, and the birds yet sing. Are you kin to these not-stable stones?" Maria seemed to understand the question earlier, but maybe near-nonsense will mean more to her.

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Hills]

Although it would be so easy for Maria to just move out of the grasp of the thorns, she still chooses to not. That alone proves she is not wholly there; at least, she's definitely not perceptive of what's or who's around her. There's clearly no point in listening to her: as an exploding witch, all she desires is fire, death, and explosions. Nothing more. Everything ought to be burned to ash as she is.

However, it can be noted that some of the ash that makes her up is (or was, at one point in time) made from charcoal. Bone black, a lot of it, and some common charcoal from pinewood, among other things. Later crushed and mixed in with everything else, forming almost everything from the cracks in her ashen skin or the wispy grey hair to the burning embers behind her eyes.

In spite of that, she does nothing but respond. "Before the lily could bloom, my anguish was moist and my fervor new. Before becoming the lady in the meads, my step was young and my hair, alight." The glow behind her eyes ignites, and her teeth gnash. It's almost as if she doesn't even notice the plants snaking up her feet. "There we lulled to sleep and there we dreamed but the dark wind did blow." Coincidentally, wind starts to pick up on top of this peak. "It was the last dream I ever dreamt in that cold meadow. Then I saw pale kings, and priests too, pale soldiers were they all. They dreamt of many a woe, with shade and form, and cried 'La Pucelle, Pucelle doré', but it would soon be their withering nightmare."

Clearly, if that isn't evidence that nobody has any idea what she's talking about, then...well, if that can't prove she's mad then there is nothing left to say.

[Recaiden]

[Northwest Hills]

It's true, between that stillness and these horribly mangled poems. Clearly, completely mad. But sometimes the mad are wiser than they know. Can it hurt to listen?

The wizard starts at the wind. It shouldn't do that. But...maybe...it really was a coincidence.
"Witch and demon and coffin worm, and you only one to benightmare the men. But come the morn what are you for? Only for the paint and the pen?"

She draws her sword - a straight untouched expanse of ancient white metal - and levels its point at Maria. It's no coincidence that the wind leaps up and dives for the explosion witch. The thorns and stems won't be happy to let her go though.

"Remember that you were pine wood once. If you stretched out to a cold and unyielding surface of polished glass even your hand what would open its eyes?"

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Hills]

The witch looks at the sword...or rather, just above the sword. I'd say it's because she's seeing something different there, but most likely she just is looking above it for some reason. "What is this crime you are planning? Kill therefore with the sword of wisdom, and we shall sleep among my ashes cold. Afar in cold thin morning air, I'm living for giving the devil his due. Burn out the day: I've seen signs of what these went through."

The rose thorns are digging into her feet, but judging by her reaction to them (or...her lack of reaction regarding it?) she either doesn't care or doesn't feel pain. Or, possibly doesn't notice. One of those three. She does, however, take a breath and nods. "There is a pine tree in ancient story: the everlasting, rooted in heaven. But then its branches fell earthward."

Even staring down here unflinchingly in the face of the bitter steel, she still reaches into her dress's pocket. However, her eyes start to burn as if in anger or betrayal. Who knows which? "All my peace is gone; my heart is troubled. If me unresisting, weaponless, should be slain in battle..." There are four stones clutched in her hand. As she continues speaking, she drops one (which starts rolling down the mountain slope) and shifts one to her left hand. All four of them begin to light up at slightly different rates, starting with the dull red. Her voice seems to reach an angry pleading tone. "It should be better for me I stand here, my doubt dispelled, so batter my heart that I may rise, and stand. Overthrow me, bend your force to break, blow, burn, then make me new." However, as expected, there are no tears on her face: they would dissolve in the ash and burn up, most likely.

It should be noted that Maria is still not resisting yet...just talking or something. While holding three of the four rocks she grabbed. Better stop her now, before she does something drastic. Such as...

The exploding witch bends her left elbow, raising her left hand towards her face. Her eyes burn and greedily stare.
"I have harnessed the stars now unleashed upon the earth. I am death, the mighty destroyer of the world, out to destroy. Burn out the night."
Her mouth remains open as she brings the glowing stone in her left hand towards her teeth.

[Recaiden]

[Northwest Hills]

"Without law, there is no crime. Only wrong or right, and for you I see no reason to put up a fight."
How presumptuous the witch is (might be) being.

And yet, one must be patient with crazy floating ash-witches. They are (might be) people too. Cleo strikes - the sword cuts this way and swings back the other, twisting at the last second, all quick as can be. She's trying to strike the rock out of Maria's hand with the flat of the blade. But the safety of one's teeth and fingertips can never be completely guaranteed.

"It's better that you depart. Take the road not traveled by and time and home you could be. Couldn't you?"
Even so, her patience is fraying. Her eyes don't bother to follow the rock dropped to bounce and roll along the slope below, but it is a worry.
"You cherish the flame, but look the light has yet to die."

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Hills]

The rock that was in Maria's hand is longer in there. Many of her fingers are also cut. A tooth may be chipped as well, but chipped teeth don't particularly feel any different from an injured mouth so there's really no way to tell which happened until later.

The four stones continue their glowing color shift. One of the ones in her hands bursts first, turning into a shower of ash and short-lived sparks.

The dropped one that started to roll down the hill is next. It has rolled some way down the hill away from them already, and explodes. Dirt and rocks and grass are are scattered everywhere, and they arrive shortly after the mild shockwave.

The other in her hand is third. It's very strange, isn't it? How every single stone so far has had different effects. Seriously, how was she expecting to effectively use them? This one spurts small flames, in random directions. It's similar to what would happen if you blew a quick breath into a nearly-empty bottle of rubber cement that was unfortunately lit on fire. There's a burst of heat, but then nothing. Then it happens again, before calming. And so on.

The one forcibly removed from her hand by sword, however, doesn't burn or explode or burst yet. This one passes the yellow-orange color that the others stopped at, approaching a light yellow or even a whitish glow. For some reason it doesn't transfer any heat from convection, but the radiative heat can definitely be felt.


...
Maria doesn't answer. She does, however, sharply bring her hand down. I imagine it hurt.

[Recaiden]

[Northwest Hills]

One might have thought that Maria wouldn't feel pain at all. Even so, it shouldn't be a surprise that she noticed the damage to the her hand.

The wizard returns the sword to its sheathe once again. No blood to clean, just a few flecks of ash that fell away easily enough. A hint of a smile crosses her lips at the shower of sparks.

The shockwave and its accompanying shower of dirt is less welcome. She stops and brushes the debris away with a scowl. Some of that hurt.

The third one isn't even noticed, her eyes on the one struck down to the ground, growing brighter and hotter. There's a temptation to just watch, wait and see what it does. Is it just going to radiate like a nice oven? Or is it building in a crescendo to a cataclysmic explosion? That might be a bad idea. So might this.
"Poor little stone ♪, so much expected a-♫..."
"Shatter."
The lost potential, the magic, of the words and the tunes snaps out and strikes the white-glowing stone like an unpleasantly pointy hammer.

[Morty]

[Hangar]

Wenomir is waiting for Kalya there. Her necromancy might be their only chance to obtain evidence that they didn't destroy the hovercopter. The warrior's expression looks like it might be enough to chase the dead out of their graves all by itself.

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Hills]

The fallen stone shatters to the magic of the tune. Shattering, all of its explosive and thermal and valcanic and radiative and dormant and volcanic energy is released at once in a chaotic and uncontrolled burst. A very short burst of all kinds of light is released. The air and the plants and the soil immediately around it all burn, but it burns out so quickly that there's barely enough time for anything else to heat up.

Then...there's nothing but ash and empty space just around where it was. Luckily, it had started to roll down the mount so it was far enough to not hurt either Maria or Cleo. (Assuming you define "possibly getting a sunburn from it" as "not hurting", because that much electromagnetic energy could give you a nice sunburn or freckles or a tan if you're not protected by cloth or something in the way.)

During the distraction of the burst, Maria drops the already-used stones in her hand, and reaches towards her own face. She grabs one of her eyes, and plucks that greyish-white thing out. "Can you feel the folding winds dance upon your face?" she asks. The wind starts to pick up, but gentler than the last time it did.

Starting with her feet she starts dissolving away in the wind. Ash blows away at her feet, then up her legs and her dress and everything else all the way up. The ash blows off in the wind as that effect approaches up towards her arms and neck. "Chanting echoes in a breeze, then gone without a trace."

[Recaiden]

[Northwest Hills]

Well, she's got a sort of sunscreen on, if that helps. But with the very air burning up, Cleo is glad not to be too close to the rock anymore. She lifts a hand to her overheated face.

At the witch's might-be question, she nods.
"Gather at crossroads, and in the waves out on the ocean." she bids the witch. It would be a shame if that were really the end.

And then she reaches out towards the witch, carefully, slowly. Should she take the eye? Or is it just another faulty bomb?

[Ashen Lilies]

[Hangar]

Kalya arrives as asked, dressed in a matte black jacket of the style she's taken to more and more since coming to Vigil. A satchel hangs from her shoulder, likely holding whatever she needs to perform her necromancy.

[Morty]

[Hangar]

"All yours, Kalya," Wenomir says. "This is where the Faction's hovercopter exploded. They're blaming us for it, and dredging things up from the dead seems the only way we can stop this."

[Ashen Lilies]

[Hangar]

"Perhaps," says Kalya, though she sounds somewhat doubtful. "I can only make the dead speak what they knew."

Kalya walks around the landing pad as she explains, stopping at regular intervals to extend a hand, letting a rune flow down her arm into the floor. Calling the dead is easy - making them give up information they might not be entirely willing to volunteer requires some degree of... strenuous... persuasion. "And if the pilot knew he would be coming into death, and if I can force him to say the words to incriminate his superiors - I cannot make those you wish to persuade believe those words."

[Morty]

[Hangar]

"I know," Wenomir admits, with a sigh. "But it is the best chance we have right now. If it fails, we'd need to infiltrate their facilities."

[5a Violista]

[Northwest Hills]

Well, she's got a sort of sunscreen on, if that helps. But with the very air burning up, Cleo is glad not to be too close to the rock anymore. She lifts a hand to her overheated face.

At the witch's might-be question, she nods.
"Gather at crossroads, and in the waves out on the ocean." she bids the witch. It would be a shame if that were really the end.

And then she reaches out towards the witch, carefully, slowly. Should she take the eye? Or is it just another faulty bomb?

[Northwest Hills]

((...I thought I had responded.))

Yes, 'sort of sunscreen' usually does help. It generally does.

Faulty bombs? Maria would be offended if she was still around to listen. The only reason those stones were faulty was because they were experimental. She'll have you know she is a grade-I Exploding Witch. Certified. Those stones were the beginning, because she had never tried them out before.

The eye, however, does bring up a good question. What should be done with it? It currently has a faint glow dimmed by a cloak of smoke, and is reminiscent of Balor's eye (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balor), except obviously much smaller. For the first day, ferns near it begin to wither. The second, grass will begin to redden On the third day, wood and trees will begin to heat up, until the fourth when smoke comes out of them...until the seventh day when everything around it will catch fire as if it connected the elemental plane of fire to the world around it.

Of course, that will only happen if it remains uncovered. A simple seven-layered cloak covering it can prevent and reset that entire progression. If a wizard like Cleo should study it and how it bends magic and space, I'm sure she'll figure out what to do with it before the end of the third day. Maybe even put it to some good use
Alternatively, she could just throw it away, off the entire skybase and not risk whatever it could possibly do. It's up to her and what she'd likely do with it.

[Zefir]

[The next lesson?]

It has been some time now since Wenomir had made a lesson. Most likly he was busy getting the riverside things done and all. Mia is still eager to learn more and will look out for him, wearing a training outfit with the sword on her back.
Thought anyone can walk into her on her search.

[Halae]

[The Next Lesson]

Shireen will arrive here as well, wearing an outfit much the same as Mia's. She chooses to wear her blade at her hip, though.

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

It has been a while. Wenomir has been a busy man, what with the continuing conflict with demons, and the Riverside election. But he's not going to neglect his students, and the next lesson will happen on schedule.

When they arrive at the training grounds, Wenomir seems to be engaged in exercise of his own - on one of his obstacle courses. He's wading among several door-like panels that spin rapidly. Seems they're subtly weighed and calibrated so that they spin at different speeds and intervals, pushed by a breeze of air from outside the course. The warrior, wearing a pair of loose trousers and hand-wraps, is weaving between them... blind-folded. Despite that, they only rarely hit him.

"I'll be with you in a moment!" he calls out to his students.

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

Mia will wait there watching Wenomir . She doesn't got much to say to that or to Shireen.

[Halae]

[The Next Lesson]

Shireen waits as well, finding a place to sit as she watches her teacher move through the panels curiously.

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

The panels pick up speed, and make a fluttering sound as they spin. Wenomir seems to disappear among them, moving too quickly and hiding behind the panels. Eventually, though, he emerges on the other side, and breathes deeply. Seems the exercise was enough to strain him. He wipes the sweat from his forehead and takes off the blindfold.

"You're both here. Great. I know it's been a while since our last session, but duty calls. We'll try to make up for it today."

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

"Don't worry Wenomir." Mia says. "I also got some responibilities that keep me busy."
She makes a small break and looks at the device he used befor.
"I hope you don't want us to go through this. At least I already know that I'm not ready for it."

[Halae]

[The Next Lesson]

Shireen grimaces when she looks at the door panels, "Yeah, what's on the agenda today?"

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

"You probably won't, Mia," Wenomir says. "Shireen might. Today we're going to focus on your weaknesses, and how to overcome them. So you'll be training individually. Can you guess what each of you will be doing?"

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

"I assume it got something to do with the course from last time?" Mia says. "I would say I leak a proper fighting spirit which causes me to get suprised to easily. And you got something to help me learn that?"

[Halae]

[The Next Lesson]

Shireen frowns, clearly trying to think of what her issue must be, but she's drawing a blank. She's been keeping up with everything, hasn't she?

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

Wenomir nods.

"This is true. When you ran my obstacle course, you couldn't adapt fast enough. I need to hone your reflexes and make you more flexible. You need to always be ready for the battlefield to change, in ways you can't predict.

He then turns to Shireen.

"You're not sure, I can tell. Your problem is mobility, or lack thereof. You move in straight lines, instead of dodging or maneuvering. Brute-forcing your way through obstacles might work here in training, but it won't on a battlefield. And it's not what I'm trying to teach you. So I need to correct it."

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

"It sounds like something you learn during years." Mia replies to Wenomir. "I never experienced something like that in my past so I assume you got a crash course."
Mia just looks suprised about Shireen problem. She didn't even note that there is one.

[Deathkeeper]

Yet Another Lesson

At a later date Koshal will arrive to talk to Wenomir as usual, in his training armor and tabard and trailed by Faye, chipper as ever. The only thing different will be his "shorter" weapon.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

And Wenomir is there to greet his youngest student. He's on the training grounds near his home in the commanders' village, leaning against the Answer. He's not wearing armour, though - just a sleeveless shirt and trousers.

"Hello, Koshal. New weapon?"

[Deathkeeper]

yet another lesson

Koshal shakes his head and draws his sword, revealing the trick.
"Nope. Just a trick sheathe. It's super neat, right?" he asks, knowing an old person like Wenomir probably doesn't use the word "cool."

Faye sits down beside Wenomir and looks up at him with happy eyes.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"A sheath of holding? That's pretty practical. Carrying a proper two-handed sword around can be inconvenient. Where did you get that?"

He scratches Faye's head absent-mindedly as he asks.

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Well I was drinking soda at Trog's and this guy came in and said he needed help defending his town so this wizard lady and I teamed up and killed this bug dude that was abducting people and then we went to his tower and took all his stuff. It was pretty heroic." Koshal babbles proudly.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir smiles, with a measure of pride. He's glad to see Koshal bring his abilities to good use.

"Sounds like quite an adventure. It was challenging enough to keep your sharp, I hope."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal ponders.
"Well, it wasn't too hard, but it wasn't really fair. I had a wizard lady and the best dog in the universe with me." he says with a grin. Really, the poor bug got downed ridiculously quickly.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir's smile fades briefly, as he remembers a wizard lady that used to fight by his side. But he banishes the thought quickly. Koshal doesn't need to hear about his personal losses.

"A good dog makes all the difference, I'm sure," he says. "How about I put it to the test? Let's get some practice swords, and you can show me what you've learned. And there's something I'd like to tell you about while we fight."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal nods and goes to find some practice swords.
"Um, okay, Sir. What sort of thing?" he asks the man.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"You could call it my personal philosophy," Wenomir says, as he takes one of the practice swords. He then stands in a seemingly relaxed posture, that doesn't look ready to intercept attacks. "Why did you choose to train as a knight?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Because Knights get to wear fancy armor and go around being heroic and stuff and it's like Uncle Krayger's job but more heroic." Koshal insists, taking a more basic stance.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir doesn't move. He's waiting for Koshal to attack, it seems. He's a little put off by the boy's honest and simple answer, before rolling with that.

"What does your uncle do, and why is it less heroic? You can wear fancy armour and be heroic as a wizard or gunslinger. But you chose the sword."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Uncle Krayger's a mercenary. It pays better but there's less glory and stuff. Mister Dipsnig seems nice enough but I don't think he'd do noble deeds if they didn't pay. And they didn't have guns in our world. And I thought I had no magic at all." he explains. He tricks a quick thrust at Wen, trying not to overextend.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir parries the thrust and aims a counter-attack at Koshal's shoulder. It's not very fast or precise, but it should keep the youngster on his toes... or hooves, as the case may be.

"I'd also never seen a gun before coming here, although my world has them," he says. "We did have knights, though. It's a weighty title, here and elsewhere. What does it mean to you to be a knight, rather than another sort of warrior?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Because knights are more noble and righteous and they get castles and shinier armor. It's not the same as just being a marauder..." Koshal says, sidestepping the swing despite the self-reflection and bringing his blade around for a basic draw-cut.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir angles his torso so that Koshal's sword grazes his chest - even a real sword would only scratch against the mail. He keeps talking as he aims an upwards slice at the student's arms, to see if he can get away in time.

"Castles and shinier armour? Anyone can have those. They're just possessions. What makes a knight noble and righteous?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal stumbles backwards, avoiding the strike, but clumsily and leaving himself open.
"Well, he or she does. It's culture. Ideals. You can't guarantee a knight will be a proper knight. Anyone can be a bad person." Koshal puts simply.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Knighthood seems to be about serving a lord or lady," Wenomir says. As he does so, he makes a jab at Koshal's leg. "They swear oaths of fealty to obey their liege, and protect their subjects. They swear to fight with fairness and honour. Is that what you'll do?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Maybe. We're in a pretty unique situation." Koshal explains while bringing up his sword in an arc to bparrt the strike.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Unique how?" Wenomir asks, as he suddenly changes his strike's direction, and jabs at Koshal above his sword. Will he be quick enough to respond to the feint?

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Lady Leah is both my knight and my liege, and she's also directly connected to Message who is the town's patron goddess." Koshal explains before being poked in the chest. He frowns, disappointed at himself.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir steps back again, waiting for Koshal to strike.

"That does change things. Do you worship this goddess yourself?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Maybe? Worship is...a strong word." he says, a bit confused by their relationship.
He holds off for now, trying to goad Wen into taking action.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir performs a seemingly idle flourish with his sword, which suddenly turns into a sideways strike towards Koshal's left arm. It's not so quick that he wouldn't be able to defend, though.

"I'm not asking any of this out of idle curiosity. But I'm wondering why you think I'm doing it."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal barely manages to get his sword up in time, stumbling back.
"You wanna know what I think before you introduce me to something else." Koshal guesses, not winded at all from the practice so far.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir presses his advantage, sweeping at Koshal's legs.

"Close, but not quite. I wanted to make you think about why you train and fight. There are no wrong answers to that, as long as they're honest, and come from your core. Did they?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal jumps over the swing, and immediately breaks into a grin at his own success. "A'course. Why'd I lie about somethin' like that?" he asks Wenomir.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Not lie. But... sometimes we give answers that we wish were true," Wenomir says. He acknowledges Koshal's dodge with a nod, and steps back to let him attack. "Or tell people what we think they want to hear. But those things have no place on the field of battle. Combat strips them away, and reveals your core. Not everyone likes what they see, when that happens."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Mhm." is all Koshal hums, and after a moment's consideration he makes a pair of short swipes at Wenomir's waist, hoping to at least get a touch in.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir takes the hit, and keeps backing away. Is he yielding, or luring Koshal into overextending himself?

"Those questions are similar to what someone else asked me, a long time ago. But in a very similar situation. We sparred, and he asked me about what I just asked you. Not literally, since I was never going to be a knight. But he also wanted to know why I fought, and what's my core that conflict reveals. I didn't really know that, at the time. But asking those questions is the first step when seeking the Riddle of Steel."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"And that's your warrior code, Mister Wenomir?" Koshal asks. He knows a little about what they say of Wen's history. That's why Wen got that dagger Koshal thought of.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"You may have heard people call me a peasant," Wenomir says. He rests his sword on the ground, indicating a break in the sparring. "Some of them mean it as an insult. To me, it's a badge of pride. I call myself a peasant to show everyone what you can rise above. In my homeland, I would never be a true warrior, because I wasn't born into a line of knights. They supposedly descend from those who once rode with the war-god, Jarowit. But here I am now. My path to the Riddle is not bowing down to what others would have me be. My limits are my own."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal seems satisfied and rests his sword on his shoulder.
"It makes sense, sir. I'm just from some clan in a world no one knows. Background isn't important."

---
Meanwhile, a little orange dragon delivers a letter to Vigil. He can be intercepted or the letter found later.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir shakes his head.

"I wouldn't say it isn't. Where you come from always stays with you. The dreary, run-down hole named Raven's Ford has stayed with me. But it doesn't set your limits. Only you can do that. And then you can surpass them. You heard me mention the Riddle of Steel, didn't you? This philosophy is all about testing, reaching and surpassing limits. I try to impart it on my students, but only if they're willing."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Yeah you've said it. A'course I'll listen, Mr. Wenomir." the Minotaur says dutifully. He wouldn't ever ignore something said by like, the third coolest person he knows.

[Halae]

[The Next Lesson]

Wenomir nods.

"This is true. When you ran my obstacle course, you couldn't adapt fast enough. I need to hone your reflexes and make you more flexible. You need to always be ready for the battlefield to change, in ways you can't predict.

He then turns to Shireen.

"You're not sure, I can tell. Your problem is mobility, or lack thereof. You move in straight lines, instead of dodging or maneuvering. Brute-forcing your way through obstacles might work here in training, but it won't on a battlefield. And it's not what I'm trying to teach you. So I need to correct it."
[The Next Lesson]

"It sounds like something you learn during years." Mia replies to Wenomir. "I never experienced something like that in my past so I assume you got a crash course."
Mia just looks suprised about Shireen problem. She didn't even note that there is one.[The Next Lesson]

"Oh." Shireen says, frowning when her flaw is pointed out. Well... that doesn't make much sense. why would you walk around when you can go in a straight line?

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

"There's nothing like real battle experience for this, but I can and will prepare you," Wenomir tells Mia. "The key is to divide your attention. We focus on what we're doing, by instinct. A warrior has to conquer this instinct, and always devote some part of their mind to what might come next. I have some exercise in mind that will help you get used to it."

"You're not convinced, Shireen, are you?" He asks, looking to the half-dragon. "Don't you think it's a problem?"

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir sits down on the ground, motioning Koshal to the same.

"The Riddle of Steel is an old idea... and it's hard for me to say how much of it is truth, and not fiction. It was supposedly discovered by the god of war that I mentioned.

Just what the Riddle is, no one knows. The philosophy is about trying to find out. My view on it is that there is no one Riddle. We each have our own Riddle that we try to reach. We'll never do it, but walking this path makes it worth it. It makes us something more than dealers of death and pain.

The first lesson of the Riddle of Steel, regardless, is the duality of flesh and steel. Steel marks flesh, but flesh can't mark steel. According to my old master, and myself for a long time, it means that steel is stronger, and flesh is inferior. But I realized a flaw in this reasoning. Can you see it too?"

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

Mia just nods. she got nothing to add here. After all she is the one who takes the lessons.

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet another Lesson]

Koshal thinks about this.
"Well yeah. Flesh can't usually break steel but it can bend it. A sword isn't good if its rigid." is his answer.

[Morty]

[Yet another Lesson]

Wenomir smiles.

"That's one way to look at it. My own epiphany was different, but maybe not too much. Flesh can't mark steel, but it makes steel. Without flesh, it's just an inert lump of metal ore. I thought the Riddle was about casting the limitations of flesh aside, and becoming more like steel. It was limited, and made me little different from all the wizards and mad scientists, always trying to eke out a little more power by leaving everything else behind. But we're martial artists, and we walk another path." He paused. "That said... I used to think magic and technology were obstacles to the Riddle. I'm not so sure now. Rejecting them has been my path, and that won't change. But someone else might use them, and still walk their path with purpose. I don't know yet."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal nods, more or less understanding.
"Well I hope so Sir. Faye is magic and I'd never give her up." he says, hugging his dog close.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir chuckles.

"What kind of heartless brigand would I have to be, to separate a boy and his dog? Like I said, there are many paths to the Riddle. If you want to seek it, I can help guide you along whichever one you take. If that's your choice."

[5a Violista]

[Vigil Skybase: Upper Village]
In the dead of night

Awen leaves her single room, finally. She's actually been in there for a couple of days, without even opening that door. Without even turning any of the lights on, she peers around the corner, out the door.

...
Nobody's there. She exits her room, and holds the door open for her fox. After she's sure her fox has left the room, she slowly closes the door as quietly as she can.

She creeps through the hallway and the village, finding her way towards the center. She's actually rather hungry and is trying to get into the mess hall without anybody noticing.

[Recaiden]

There's a(t least one) light on in the mess hall, and the sound of someone typing, click-click-click. If one peeks into the window, they could see the centauress Alice (no longer the newest VIGIL member, thanks Anika!) at one of the taller tables working at a laptop computer. She seems rather distracted; maybe one could steal past and get some food without even being noticed. Maybe.

The laundromat is also in use, with the hum of tumbling dryers audible as one passes by.

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal looks up with happy eyes.
"Of course I'd like your guidance, Mister Wenomir. You're one of the best people I know at that sort of thing." the minotaur says sincerely.

[5a Violista]

[Vigil Skybase: Upper Village]
In the dead of night

Awen, noticing that there's a light on in the mess hall, stops outside the window. Just before peering in, she checks to make sure her headscarf is on correctly. From what she can tell, the lights in there, such as from the laptop could really illuminate her. She has a spell that can solve this, which could coat all the lights in a thick black dust. In preparation of casting it, she cuts a gash in one of her hands with a finger.

But...
Casting a spell like that would immediately draw attention to herself. The lights suddenly going black would immediately make the centauress suspicious that there's someone around. So, instead, she just squeezes her hand to put pressure on the bleeding.

She walks into the door as quietly as she can. There's a quiet hissing sound, then Awen ducks so as much of her as possible is below the table and chair line. Moving as quietly as possible (and as quickly as possible without making a lot of noise), she makes her way past the centauress and toward the kitchen. She, of course, can't really see what the centauress is doing, seeing how Awen is averting her eyes from the lit area.

Shortly following her is the light padding sound of a fox's paws.

[Recaiden]

In the dead of night

A moment after the hissing sound, Alice looks up. Luckily Awen is safely behind a table by then.
"Is that, you, Sir Mu-oh, no, it's a fox?"
She shifts away from her computer to get a closer look, but not moving too fast, lest she scare the thing.
"Hello. Where did you come from?"

[5a Violista]

In the dead of night

Awen does not reach the kitchen. Upon hearing Alice's voice, she stops moving: now that the centaur's attention has been grabbed by the fox, it sounds like it would be pretty easy for her to notice Awen, also. She looks back towards her fox and slowly backs away.

The fox Reynard also freezes when spoken to. It looks at the centauress. Then looks over Awen, who is gesticulating something along the lines of "no! Look back, don't come this way". Nonono, don't give away where I am. That's what she wants to say.

Then, the fox looks back at Alice. Its front paws hop backwards away from her, then it stares. It doesn't respond, because it's a fox.

[Recaiden]

In the dead of night

"You're Awen's fox, right? Or someone new? Are you hungry?" Alice briefly wonders whether she should feed animals that wander in. Probably yes. She turns and goes to look for something a fox might like. After a few moments, she comes up with mouse from out of the refrigerator and will toss it over to Reynard. But during that time, plenty could happen. If someone were quick.

[5a Violista]

In the dead of night

Awen's heart-rate and her breathing rate (as soon as she dares to take a breath) keep up with her spike of adrenaline.

As Alice goes into the refrigerator, Awen practically crawls towards the kitchen area. Not towards the door, but towards the counter that they always have between kitchens and the eating area of mess halls. She waits until the centaur-woman starts to come back from the refrigerator. Trying to get the timing right, she lifts herself up and over the counter, into the kitchen.

She only knocks over a couple things, meaning she was incredibly stealthy. She manages to catch most of them before they hit the ground, but one slips just out of her grasp, clattering on the floor. Awen immediately reaches out to mute the bouncing cup, so it doesn't echo too much.

Reynard, on the other hand, warily watches Alice come back. Noticing the mouse, he starts to run around the room really quickly, darting under chairs and legs until his pent-up energy brings him to the mouse. He makes this sound that sounds like a cross between a meow and panting. Y'know, normal fox noises. He crouches...and springs at the mouse! Master hunter that he is, he catches the refrigerated mouse.

Reynard then mercilessly betrays Awen by running away towards a random table in the corner of the mess hall, and starts playing with and eating the mouse under the table.

[Recaiden]

In the dead of night

Alice looks over at the sound of the clattering cup, but Awen is already over the counter by then, out of easy sight.

"Hmm."

When Reynard catches the mouse with such an expert leap, she has to congratulate him.
"Good work!"

The night-time visitor dealt with, she really should get back to-
No, on second thought, she should probably go see what that noise was. From the kitchen, wasn't it? Had she really been so clumsy as to knock something down on the way back, without even feeling it? That would be embarrassing, at least only Reynard would have noticed, at most. And it didn't sound like anything broke. Probably she just needs to put a bowl back on the counter, or stand a bottle back up.

So she trots over to look around.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Hangar]

"Perhaps," says Kalya, though she sounds somewhat doubtful. "I can only make the dead speak what they knew."

Kalya walks around the landing pad as she explains, stopping at regular intervals to extend a hand, letting a rune flow down her arm into the floor. Calling the dead is easy - making them give up information they might not be entirely willing to volunteer requires some degree of... strenuous... persuasion. "And if the pilot knew he would be coming into death, and if I can force him to say the words to incriminate his superiors - I cannot make those you wish to persuade believe those words."


[Hangar]

"I know," Wenomir admits, with a sigh. "But it is the best chance we have right now. If it fails, we'd need to infiltrate their facilities."

[Hangar]

That's not as... confident... as Kalya was hoping for.

Using Necromancy for this purpose is something she would consider to unethical. Immoral, even. But in times of great necessity... "This is your command,
then?"

One attempts to dodge responsibility and pass it on to a higher up. >.>

[Morty]

[Hangar]

Wenomir shakes his head.

"Summon him, but don't force him to do anything. We'll just need to try normal negotiation and see how it works."

[5a Violista]

In the dead of night

Reynard now takes the mouse on top of a chair and continues to eat it there.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen area, Awen's mind races. What should she do? Should she hide in a cabinet? Should she cast the spell that puts out the lights? Should she try to make the centaur fall asleep with her magic? Should she run? Should she use some other magic?

Paralyzed in indecision, the girl is still crouched there when Alice reenters the kitchen. There's one plastic cup on the floor, a piece of cutlery in one of her hands, and a lot of her long black hair sticks forward out of her headscarf at odd angles, holding various different things you'd find on a kitchen counter.

Looking up at Alice, Awen opens her mouth. She tries to speak, but only a squeak comes out: apparently that happens to people who haven't tried speaking for so long?

[Morty]

[The Next Lesson]

((I'm skipping Halae here for now, since she can't post. Wenomir will have trained each student individually, while the other does drills and exercises.))

"The exercise I prepared might be unusual," Wenomir tells Mia, as he leads her towards a chair and a stack of... booklets? "These are logical and mathematical puzzles. They'll be easy for you, I'm sure, but they will require that you concentrate on them. While you solve them, I will do things that will require your attention. When I throw a ball at you, you will have to dodge it or catch it. When I ring a gong, you'll have to stand up, get your sword and assume a defensive stance. When I ring a bell, you have to make a parry and a counter-attack, in any direction you want."

[Recaiden]

In the dead of night

Alice looks across the disheveled counter and then, quickly enough, down at Awen.
"..."
This is peculiar. Should she help clean up? Just leave? Is she looking for the fox? Is it looking for her?
"What are you doing?"

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase/the Academy

The door opens forth as a man walks in, but this (like pretty much everyone else) is no ordinary man.

He wears a dark green robe and cowl, the cowl actually covers most of his face with the only feature outside is the red skin and toothy smile. He wears a chain shirt over his robe which clinks at every step. Six horns rip through the fabric of his cowl at the top of the man's head, each one lined like a ram's horns. Upon the belt of this man, though why he needed a belt in the first place is ludicrous he's wearing a robe, was a scabbard, and laying inside the scabbard is a sword with a great yellow cat's eye. The cat's eye dashes from person to person for each movement, deciding whether the action is intended for malice.

HEEELLO vigil people! My name is Xavouir, and I have come here to join! I have heard of your organization, and its tendency to thwart the forces of "not good", and these cooincide with my intentions as well! Where do I sign up! No, no Kitty I do not consider you a person, you don't even have legs. I don't care if you are an intelligent sword, I... Fine. Where do we sign up? asks Xavouir Markard.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Hangar]

Wenomir shakes his head.

"Summon him, but don't force him to do anything. We'll just need to try normal negotiation and see how it works."

[Hangar]

Kalya nods.

Time to summon some dead dude.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Very well, then," Wenomir says. "Like sir Dobigniew did to me once, I will lead you on the first step towards the Riddle. Let us begin. Tell me, what do you know of steel? How is it made? What do you need to forge it?"

[Celticbear]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Very well, then," Wenomir says. "Like sir Dobigniew did to me once, I will lead you on the first step towards the Riddle. Let us begin. Tell me, what do you know of steel? How is it made? What do you need to forge it?"

Is this to me, or someone else? Unspecific location tag is kinda unspecific:smallannoyed:

[Shadowcaller]

Vigil Skybase/the Academy

A, judging by the ridiculously long ears and eyebrows, elven woman (http://i.imgur.com/v0NyKEc.jpg) looks up from her reverie. "Oh, hello yourself, wanderer, uh, wanders." As much as a sword can wander... or at least she thought he was talking to the sword. Hopefully he was talking to the sword. "I think you just need to... yeah, I think I can sign you up. I'm Anika." She offers her hand to shake, smiling.

[Celticbear]

A fine welcome to yourself says Xavouir as a six fingered red hand comes from the billows of the robe.

[Shadowcaller]

Vigil Skybase/the Academy

Anika shakes his hand then. "So, you a warrior... or warlock?" She tilts her head to the side. "I mean, not like it is a issue, we take in all kinds of people here. They dragged me in after all." She smiles.

[Celticbear]

I am a barkeep, but my soul is bound to this sword here until the universe converges on itself and a new one is born. We have traveled the many planes of existence, and vanquished many an evil together. Well,
Kitty here does all the work, I just sit around and watch. I am Xavouir by the way, and- what do you mean holy mission? I'm just doing this so I don't wind up in... you know what? Let's not rehash this argument again. We've had it too many times.

Sorry for that, Kitty here likes to bring up the whole "You're helping the people against the forces of evil". I can do minor magic though. Nothing to much.

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal thinks for a moment. Faye barks, and he manages to spit up some infgormation from a textbook.
"Steel is made from iron. You start with the ore, and a forge hot enough to melt it because you need to refine the metal and remove impurities, and get...the right amount of carbon?" he says, unsure of his words. There was definitely something about carbon.

[Shadowcaller]

Vigil Skybase/the Academy

"Right." Anika lets go of his hand and looks him, and the sword, over. "So what can the sword do then? Sounds like some ashbringer-level of weaponry right there." She gestures towards 'Kitty'.

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase/ The Academy

Watch this says Xavouir.

Without a moment's Paise, Kitty leaps from Xavouir's dashboard and issues a brilliant screech that seems like a banshee on steroids. Xavouir's tosses a rock proclaimed from his pocket into the air, and Kitty flashes for a moment, and the rock comes down again. Picking it up and breathing Kitty, Xavouir presents Anika with a near perfect representation of her likeness where a round rock should have been.

Kitty's not that fast in battle, but she is just as accurate.

[Shadowcaller]

Vigil Skybase/ The Academy

Anika has to cover her ears and squeeze her eyes shut as Kitty screeches. Her ears were more sensitive to sounds than humans, and that was just a bit much.
Therefore, she actually misses the moment where Xavouir tosses up the rock into the air, but she does see when the sword flashes and her gaze follows the rock falling down again.
"Wow!" She exclaims as she see the figure, it was tiny, but that made it all the more impressive. How did you cut something that small as a sword?
She holds out her hand. "Let me take a closer look, can he cut larger stones like that too?"

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase/The Academy

She can cut just about anything. replies Xavouir.

[Shadowcaller]

Vigil Skybase/The Academy

"Uh, right, she. Sorry, Kitty." She wasn't even sure the sword could hear her, but she better not anger something that could do that. "But that's interesting, if there was a bigger rock, could she make another statue like that, I mean?" Don't get ideas now...

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase/Academy

Kitty can hear you, and accepts your apology. I think we can do another statue. How big a rock are we talking? asks Xavouir.

[Shadowcaller]

Vigil Skybase/Academy

The druid seem to consider for a moment. "There are a few larger rocks out in the woods, outside the base, but I'm not really sure that's a challenge for you. All that lives out there are these tiny sprites, and those are friendly as far as i can tell. Each new member is supposed to go through a trial of sort you see, and there is no standard trial. We sort of make one up for each member."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Academy

Hold up, I got this! saysXavouir as he rushes into the nearby woods.

After a few hours of gathering large rocks, he is fairly strong, he stacks them. Kitty is summoned to his waiting hand, and after ten minutes of swordplay, Xavouir's stone monolith spells:

Vigil Skybase

There: made a logo, and proved myself. Again, Kitty doesn't go this fast or accurate in combat. This isn't a hostile environment,
so she can really make some art.

[Zefir]

[The Next Lesson]

((I'm skipping Halae here for now, since she can't post. Wenomir will have trained each student individually, while the other does drills and exercises.))

"The exercise I prepared might be unusual," Wenomir tells Mia, as he leads her towards a chair and a stack of... booklets? "These are logical and mathematical puzzles. They'll be easy for you, I'm sure, but they will require that you concentrate on them. While you solve them, I will do things that will require your attention. When I throw a ball at you, you will have to dodge it or catch it. When I ring a gong, you'll have to stand up, get your sword and assume a defensive stance. When I ring a bell, you have to make a parry and a counter-attack, in any direction you want."

[The Next Lesson]

Mia listens.
"Okay, give me a moment to memorize things." if he does she will mumble the different trigger and action. Depending on how much time he will give her she might mix them up. She will then start if there aren't any more instructions. Things are clear from her side.

[Shadowcaller]

Vigil Skybase / Academy

Anika scratches her head as Xavouir walks off. Not exactly what she had intended, but whatever worked?
Xavouir might note that there is a purple-feathered eagle circling above him as he gathers rocks, descending only as he is about to be finished, returning to her humanoid form. "Really impressive, admittedly, I had hoped to have some combat challenge considering that's what we do. But I think this have proven how powerful the sword, er, Kitty, is anyway. If it can do this to a rock, no one wants to be on the wrong side of her." She offers her hand again. "So welcome to VIGIL, Xavouir and Kitty. Great to have you on-board."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase/Academy

Great to be aboard! I'm sure Kitty would shake your hand if she had arms! Though now that I think about it, she wouldn't need me if she had arms, so let's hope she doesn't grow any! says Xavouir as he gives Anika a six fingered handshake.

[Shadowcaller]

Vigil Skybase/Academy

"Think she is going to need feet too, and maybe some way to swing herself." Anika muses. "But you should go and get yourself familiarized with the other members. Learn yourself work as a team, or whatnot. Most people that come here are solo-players, or so I heard."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase/Academy --> Vigil Skybase/Training Grounds

She seemed nice, didn't she Kitty? Oh how could you even say that? Oat of chastity still stands, you know you're the only woman for me! says xavouir as he makes his way into the Training Grounds.

Hello fellow recruits! I'm Xavouir, and I'm new here. Pleasure to meet all of you. shouts Xavouir as he enters the Training Grounds.

[Morty]

[Training Grounds - Mia/Xavouir]

Xavouir will likely spot two people there, but one of them is clearly not a recruit. He's a tall, tanned man with long, black hair, currently instructing Mia (played by Zefir).

http://i.imgur.com/zWdGQqg.jpg

"Hm. Get started, Mia. I'll start introducing distractions shortly." He then looks to the newcomer. "You must be new here."

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Yes, quite," Wenomir says. "You forge steel from iron. It passes through fire, water and a hammer, to become something more. I teach the same thing. We're all raw, unformed iron when we start. The fire, heat, water and pounding of battle turn us into something greater. There is no other way. I can teach you, but your true test will be meeting an enemy and living to tell about it."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase/Academy

Wow. I'm not sure to congratulate you because of the amount of battles you've survived, or fell bad about how many times you've been stabbed. says Xavouir shaking his head.

[Lord Magtok]

Hangar Necromancy


[Hangar]

Wenomir shakes his head.

"Summon him, but don't force him to do anything. We'll just need to try normal negotiation and see how it works."


[Hangar]

Kalya nods.

Time to summon some dead dude.

When it comes to the afterlife, MagClones can have it pretty rough. When one clone dies, their network of resources, comrades and connections is all gone. Not a single piece of technology is retained, none of it There's no wi-fi in hell, no patented thoughtsharing software between souls. I mean, some philosophies are generous enough to allow whatever riches one is buried with to carry over, but there's no such rule about any of the equipment your average MagClone depends on, just to get through the day. On top of that, there's just so many of them, and so very little demand for their talents in the hereafter. After all, what is a robotics engineer to a deity? He manufactures cheap, crude facsimiles of life, full of wires and circuitry; the construction of a thousand Magbots is nothing compared to the gods who sculpt fully-formed and sapient man from the earth's clay. His laser geese are a feeble joke to those who can call forth blessed lightning from the skies above, and his multitude of storied accomplishments stripped to almost nothing when one so much as deigns to ask 'Which one of those acts did you contribute, individually?'

So really, when you think about it, there's no reason why anyone should be surprised when the pilot's soul comes flying right out into VIGIL's hangar, absolutely overjoyed to escape that infernal hellscape of misery and pain for a couple minutes. Someone called for him. Not just any MagClone, but him specifically. Of all the clones in Gehenna, he was the only one important enough to warrant this mortal's beckoning. It must be his lucky day.

"Oh hi, Wenomir. Stranger," the pilot nods, still dressed in the very same uniform he wore on his last day in this world. He's a little translucent and covered in spectral flames reminiscent of the same fire that took his life, but other than that, he looks about the same, with a great big grin spread across his face. Were it the day after his death, rather than quite a few days later, he might not be so thrilled to be here. After all, Wenomir is with VIGIL, and that means he's The Enemy. Not so today, however. A reprieve from the barbs and lashing and cauldrons of fire is welcome, no matter where it comes from, or why. Besides, Wenomir is one of those primitive swordsman types, right? From back in the days when everyone was illiterate, the average lifespan could be counted on one hand, and people thought sickness was caused by evil spirits. It should be easy to trick VIGIL into letting his soul loose, if this guy's the one in charge.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase/Academy]

"I've been stabbed many times, yes. And cut, and burnt, and anything else you can imagine," the man says. "But I'm still here. Name's Wenomir. I'm one of the commanders of Vigil. This is Mia, a Vigil member and my student. Please don't disturb her, she's practising."

[Hangar Necromancy]

Wenomir decides to get straight to the point. He doesn't have much hope of getting what he wants out of this exchange, so it's best to make it count and put the spirit on the back foot.

"You're looking cheerful for someone blown up by their own people."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal nods.
"Like the bug guy! Well, I dunno if it really counts since I had help. But yeah, of course I'd like you to teach me. You and Lady Leah teach me so much." he says with a smile.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Hangar Necromancy]

Summoning complete, Kalya hangs back and lets Wenomir do the talking, until she's needed.

[Zefir]

Vigil Skybase/Academy --> Vigil Skybase/Training Grounds

She seemed nice, didn't she Kitty? Oh how could you even say that? Oat of chastity still stands, you know you're the only woman for me! says xavouir as he makes his way into the Training Grounds.

Hello fellow recruits! I'm Xavouir, and I'm new here. Pleasure to meet all of you. shouts Xavouir as he enters the Training Grounds.


[Training Grounds - Mia/Xavouir]

Xavouir will likely spot two people there, but one of them is clearly not a recruit. He's a tall, tanned man with long, black hair, currently instructing Mia (played by Zefir).

http://i.imgur.com/zWdGQqg.jpg

"Hm. Get started, Mia. I'll start introducing distractions shortly." He then looks to the newcomer. "You must be new here."

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Yes, quite," Wenomir says. "You forge steel from iron. It passes through fire, water and a hammer, to become something more. I teach the same thing. We're all raw, unformed iron when we start. The fire, heat, water and pounding of battle turn us into something greater. There is no other way. I can teach you, but your true test will be meeting an enemy and living to tell about it."

[Training Grounds - Mia/Xavouir]

The other person is a young woman, she may be around 17 years old. Her hair is tied back to a pony teil and she wears rather simple clothes for swordplay.

She just nods befor she goes to the prepared books and starts to Study.

[Lord Magtok]

[Hangar Necromancy]

Wenomir decides to get straight to the point. He doesn't have much hope of getting what he wants out of this exchange, so it's best to make it count and put the spirit on the back foot.

"You're looking cheerful for someone blown up by their own people."

The dead pilot opens his mouth to respond, then immediately clams up when he realizes what Wenomir is implying. Uh oh, the barbarian is smarter than he looks. He knows, doesn't he? Or rather, he suspects, and had this summoning done so that he could confirm those suspicions. We're going to have to be careful here, gotta think over every little thing we do or say, lest The Faction suffer for our indiscretion.

"I'm dead. I've been dead for a few days now. It doesn't particularly matter to me how it happened, because now I have dead people problems to worry about," the spirit explains, shrugging with false nonchalance, carefully avoiding any sort of confirmation or denial of Wenomir's allegations. "How is The Faction doing these days, though?" Gotta start off slow, ease him into the whole 'let my spoopy ghost freely wander the Nexus and I might tell you stuff' bargaining.

[Morty]

[Hangar Necromancy]

"They're pushing pretty hard into Southside," Wenomir says, casually. "They wanted to ally with us, and decided to pin the exploding helicopter on us instead when we refused. The friend of yours who was here seems to believe we really did it. Maybe only the higher-ups knew the real deal."

[Yet Another Lesson]

"I've had plenty of help in my own battles," Wenomir assures him. "But it's like I said. We can teach you, but you also need to make your own lessons from your battles. Have you learned anything from this one?"

[Deathkeeper]

Yet Another Lesson

"I think I learned that trying to be perfect really doesn't mean much if you can still get cut and shot like everyone else. Everyone have limits and thinking otherwise gets you killed." Koshal says after a moment. He hopes he sounded smart with that one.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"What makes you say that? Did the wizard claim to be perfect?" Wenomir asks.

[Deathkeeper]

Yet Another Lesson

Koshal nods.
"The bug thing was his perfection formula. Pretty dumb because bugs are awful. He wasn't any smarter and seemed no stronger than me. So he died." that's all there is to it.

[Lord Magtok]

[Hangar Necromancy]

"They're pushing pretty hard into Southside," Wenomir says, casually. "They wanted to ally with us, and decided to pin the exploding helicopter on us instead when we refused. The friend of yours who was here seems to believe we really did it. Maybe only the higher-ups knew the real deal."

"So you want me to confirm or deny your suspicions so you can do...what, exactly? Support the fascist government in Southside? Supposing for a moment that I conspired with Faction to have myself killed, and VIGIL had nothing to do with it, you can see why we'd do that, right? It'd be to keep you away. Is that really so bad, given your history?" The ghost looks away, mutters a few falsehoods to himself (Up is down, black is white, The Last Airbender was a good movie), and then turns back to Wenomir. Okay, so he's not under any sort of magical compulsion to tell the truth. Good. We weren't planning on telling him any outright lies, but it's good to know this sort of thing ahead of time.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Seems like he was trying to take a shortcut to perfection," Wenomir observes. "Fuse himself with other beings to achieve it. It could never work, of course. If perfection is attainable at all, it's through a long and rocky road."

[Hangar Necromancy]

"Yes. Yes, it is really goddamned bad," Wenomir says, taking a few steps towards the ghost. Anger creeps into his voice, breaking his stoic demeanor. "You claim pure motives, and then you turn around and frame us for murder. The political struggle in Southside isn't a matter for Vigil. Yet. But our reputation is. And I'll do what it takes to keep it clean."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

Xavouir waits quietly and patiently while the two people over yonder finish their lesson.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Wenomir walks over a few steps, picks up a bell from the ground and rings it. Then he looks at Mia expectantly.

"So, Xavouir. Can you guess what I'm doing here?"

He doesn't seem especially concerned about talking while conducting the lesson, for some reason.

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

At a guess, you just cast a spell or activated some sort of magic with that bell there, and you're seeing if Mia can find out whatever you did and avoid it. If that is the case, then eventually you'l move on to silent casting to test her reflexes even further. It's what I went through in the temple, only instead of bells there were swords that flew out at random locations each one enchanted with a different type of pain. I lost about a quarter of my blood the first week, and then became a quick study. rambles Xavouir.

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal nods. "Mhm."
Though he gives a confident smile. "Besides, if he wanted to cheat he shouldn't have used a bug. There are lots of things bigger and stronger than bugs. Doesn't make any sense to me." He could have at least tried something with horns!

[Zefir]

[Training Grounds - Mia/Xavouir]

For a moment it seems like there is no reaction from Mia. She finishes number she was writing and then grabs her sword and stands up. For anotheer moment she stands there to remember what to do. She then executes the parry and makes an upside down attack. The main thing here is that she is to slow and had to think first., but her parry was executed good enougth. She will then continue with the puzzles, but Wenomir might notice that she seems to slow down in solving them. She tries to focus more on Wenomir.

[Morty]

[Training Grounds - Mia/Xavouir]

"Hah. Close, but not quite," Wenomir says. "I don't cast spells. I train my students in swordsmanship. And right now, the lesson is about awareness and reflexes." He picks up a ball from the ground and throws it at Mia.

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Other things are bigger and stronger, but bugs are pretty resilient," Wenomir points out. "They can survive just about anywhere, and take so many different forms. Strength and size are hardly the be-all, end-all."

[Lord Magtok]

[Hangar Necromancy]

"Yes. Yes, it is really goddamned bad," Wenomir says, taking a few steps towards the ghost. Anger creeps into his voice, breaking his stoic demeanor. "You claim pure motives, and then you turn around and frame us for murder. The political struggle in Southside isn't a matter for Vigil. Yet. But our reputation is. And I'll do what it takes to keep it clean."

The ghost rolls its spectral eyes. "You know what would be a great way to keep it clean? Staying out of the Faction's business. If you could promise that, I'd say whatever you want to whomever you want. Of course you're not going to promise that, though, because you don't trust us any more than we trust you."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds.

Xavouir watches in silence.

[Zefir]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

This time Mia was more aware of Wenomir, whcih resulted into a much slower progress in solving the puzzles. She stands up immediatly, throwing her chair down and avoiding the ball by less then an inch. Wenomir should have noticed that her attention was on him instead of the puzzles, which I guess is not the task.

[Deathkeeper]

Yet Another Lesson

"Yeah but they're gross. What's the point of being tough if you're weak and all icky? He wanted to be a roach. Totally weird." Koshal insists.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Wenomir doesn't comment yet. He simply observes, and walks over to the gong, to ring it. He's doing it in order now, before mixing it up.

[Hangar Necromancy]

Wenomir shakes his head.

"And why should we trust you? When you arrived, we dealt with you fairly. We listened to your proposal, and gave it due consideration before rejecting it. You responded by framing us for murder. But... you seem more reasonable than your friend who was here with you. Did you really think it would get us off your back, instead of making us more likely to go after you?"

[Yet Another Lesson]

"When you think about it, a lot of what we do is pretty gross," Wenomir suggests, amused. "What I'm trying to tell you is that the mage's mistake lay not in what he chose to imitate, but how. There may be something to learn in the insect kingdom, but it doesn't sound like he wanted to learn anything. Just take a shortcut to 'perfection'. Which defeats the point. But maybe if he'd really tried to understand what makes those creatures special, and develop his magic this way... he might have seen more success than hurting a lot of people and being killed by a pair of adventurers."

[Zefir]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

It needs a bit until Mia stands up and takes a defensiv stand. Her reaction time still is slow, but this one was the best out of the three lessons right now.

[Lord Magtok]

[Hangar Necromancy]

Wenomir shakes his head.

"And why should we trust you? When you arrived, we dealt with you fairly. We listened to your proposal, and gave it due consideration before rejecting it. You responded by framing us for murder. But... you seem more reasonable than your friend who was here with you. Did you really think it would get us off your back, instead of making us more likely to go after you?"

"It's worked so far, hasn't it? All this time, you've been too busy dealing with other business, or getting things ready to summon me. That's-" The ghost lifts up an arm to peer at something on his wrist, before realizing that as a spooky apparition, he no longer has a fancy augmented reality hologram clock floating over his wrist anymore. Curses.

"That's at least a few days. Maybe weeks or months, I don't know. Easy to lose track of time when you've been sentenced to eternal torment and misery in the fiery pits of hell. We evaluated you as potential allies, saw that you'd rather keep your reputation squeaky clean than try to help people, and acted accordingly. I'd like to help you, Wenomir, honest, but I just don't see any reason why I should."

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

After Mia has settled down again, Wenomir snatches a ball and throws it at her. Time to make it a bit harder.

"I see you carry a sword yourself," he tells Xavouir. "Are you a swordsman, or is it just one of your tools?"

[Hangar Necromancy]

((Will post here later.))

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skyabase / Training Grounds

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you just call Kitty a tool? That hurt its feelings, you should apologize either way. asks Xavouir.

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal considers it. He doesn't really know how to feel about it.
"Well...I guess. I understand what you mean though, sir. I can't go cheating my way into power. That's just not how it works." he says to the man, stroking Faye's ears.

[Zefir]

Vigil Skyabase / Training Grounds

This time Mia got hit by the ball just when she moves to the side. Her attention was on the tasks in front of her. After the ball dropped to the ground she continues to work.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Wenomir pauses, opens his mouth and closes it again.

"Oh-kaaay... I'm going to assume 'Kitty' is your sword, and that it's intelligent. In which case, my apologies."

He doesn't send Mia any more signals for now.

[Hangar Necromancy]

"Correction - you decided we're either with you or against you, and chose to pre-emptively frame us for murder," Wenomir clarifies. "For all your insistence you're not Magtok, you act just like he did." He shakes his head. "Then again, you seem to have gone willingly to your death, which Magtok wouldn't. And your friend who was here... Isaac, or something. He doesn't know what you did, does he? No, he really thinks we killed you. I wonder what he'd do if he learned otherwise."

[Yet Another Lesson]

"You cannot. Anything gained this way won't be worth much," Wenomir confirms. "If you look at my face, every scar there is a lesson. Hopefully you won't get as ugly by the time you're my age."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

Kitty accepts your apology, and to answer your previous question, no I am not a sword master. You'll see that when I pick up one of those metal things, I will be worse than an amateur. When Kitty picks me up, however, we are a force to be reckoned with. We have toppled tyrants, eradicated empires, and created beautiful statuary when we're bored. I'm also a bartender. says Xavouir as Kitty rolls its large cat eye.

[Zefir]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Mia continues to work on. The more time pass the less she takes care of Wenomit. Assuming that is what he was going for?

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal, in a display of restraint belying his normal childish demeanor, thinks about but decides not to tell Wenomir that he shouldn't worry about that unless Koshal suddenly gets doused in hair remover and and loses his horns.
"Uncle Krayger did fine. I'm sure I won't do any worse. And I'm not running solo like he always did." the squire assures Wenomir.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Wenomir looks quite interested, as he walks over to the gong... but then suddenly jumps, landing near the bell in a single bound, and ringing it. Will Mia react quickly enough?

"So your weapon wields you? I've never encountered such a relationship between a weapon and its user. How did you come across... her?"

[Yet Another Lesson]

"Indeed. You've already worked with that wizard lady," Wenomir says. "Good support can make all the difference. Got any other fellow warriors and adventurers?"

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

She was bestowed upon me by the church of Pharasma for the purpose of seeking penance for my demonic form. says Xavouir as he gestures towards his horns.
Kitty is actually a very powerful spirit of a psychopomp, a servant to the Lady of Graves, and our souls are bound together.
See if I had died a normal death, my fiendish heritage would have sent me strait to hell, but because I am serving Pharasma by vanquishing great evils Kitty will vogue for me and hopefully send me to a better afterlife.

[Zefir]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Mia's reaction is.... quiet slow. at first it appears like she didn't even notice it. When it seems to reach her she immediatly executes the parry and counter attack.

When she goes back to the puzzles she releases an annoyed noise. Either due to her reaction or maybe due to what Xavouir said, who knows.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Wenomir lets Mia do the puzzles for a while more, as he addresses Xavouir. He frowns.

"They would damn you simply because of your lineage? That doesn't strike me as something to atone for."

[Deathkeeper]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Koshal has to think as he counts his friends on his fingers.
"Well there's Lady Leah if I need her. And Faye of course. There's Iknika, she's a goblin training to be a knight too. And Richard, he's a harpy who kicks things. And I got a few other friends but I don't know how adventurous they are." he admits.

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

Well, I am a fiend. says Xavouir as he pulls back his cowl. It reveals a red face with four milky-white eyes set above an absent nose. In the nose's place are two great slits that seem to flex and unflex as if the were breathing. He then smiles smiles, revealing a mouth akin to a great white shark as layer upon layer of teeth stand grinning. Xavouir then pulls the cowl back to cover his face, and says:
Before I was a bartender or a "holy avenger" if that's the title you prefer, I was a mystic whose blood made the left hand path easier than most. I dabbled in the dark arts some,
and if I put my foot in deeper than I did, we might be fighting at this moment instead of talking. After one too many a street jeering, I decided to align myself with the Lady of Graves to seek penance for both my actions and my heritage.

[Morty]

[Yet Another Lesson]

Wenomir blinks.

"A goblin, training to be a knight?" He shakes his head. "Forgive me. I'm afraid some assumptions are hard to shake. I was taught rather unflattering things about the Gol races... that's orcs, hobgoblins and goblins on my homeworld. Of course, I was also taught to keep my head down and work the land like my ancestors. Those expectations do cling to us, don't they?"

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Wenomir doesn't appear unnerved by Xavouir's appearance. He's seen much stranger.

"Good on you to turn back from that path, then. It's... too easy for people to be forced down a certain road, because of the way they were born. Or created."

[Lord Magtok]

[Hangar Necromancy]

"Correction - you decided we're either with you or against you, and chose to pre-emptively frame us for murder," Wenomir clarifies. "For all your insistence you're not Magtok, you act just like he did." He shakes his head. "Then again, you seem to have gone willingly to your death, which Magtok wouldn't. And your friend who was here... Isaac, or something. He doesn't know what you did, does he? No, he really thinks we killed you. I wonder what he'd do if he learned otherwise."

"I thought you were trying to convince me to tell him this stuff," the ghost frowns, confused.

[Morty]

[Hangar Necromancy]

Wenomir shrugs. He was testing the clone's reactions, but it doesn't seem like it worked. Time for his last option.

"Let's cut to the chase. I'll make you a deal. You help me prove that the explosion was staged, and I arrange for your soul to end up in a more pleasant afterlife."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

Born. Unlike most daemons, I was not made in a pit. I should say The Pit. answers Xavouir.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Wenomir picks up a ball and throws it... but not at Mia. Instead, he sends it at a nearby wall. It hits and bounces off, in her direction.

"There's a lot of kinds of demons around here. Daemons, too. And similar. We're currently embroiled in a war with creatures people have taken to calling 'demons', but that don't have much in common with other kinds of beings with that name."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

War, huh? Guess we arrived here at the right time. says Xavouir. Kitty's eye follows the ball perfectly during the entire conversation.

[Zefir]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Mia takes note that Wenomir throws another ball, but she expected a direct throw. She rise up and holds her sword sheathat Wenomirs direction just to note that the ball comes from anoterh direction. She got hit.

It looks like it will need a lot of training of this kind to reach some visible progress. ((Hope it#s okay that she fails so much. She just got 0 training in this.))

After that she will continue on her studies.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Wenomir rubs his chin, before walking over slowly to the bell and ringing it. No tricks, this time. Mia needs a slower pace, it seems.

"Looks like it. We can certainly use another sword. And the man it wields. Just be ready... there's a lot of them."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

Kitty and I can take 'em. I'm confident in that. says Xavouir.

This is a nice conversation and all, but is there anything I should be doing presently that demands attention?

Kitty's eye vibrates in tune with the bell.

[Zefir]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

Wit a more decent delay Mia makes the parry and counter attack. Things start to get heavy. Mia is not on her limits, but Wenomir wouldn't start to break a sweat like she does.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

"Not right now," Wenomir says, as he rings the bell again. "Feel free to get settled in the village, if you want to live here. You and your sword can come here any time to train." He pauses. "Unless you know anything about moving flying islands."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

Only thing I know about flying islands is that you shouldn't fall of 'em. Otherwise, no. But I am willing train right now. Kinda the reason I stopped here first. answers Xavouir.

Kitty continues to look at the action.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

"I thought so. We dragged this thing here, and build out base, but getting it to move eludes us," Wenomir clarifies. "You can try fighting against me, if you want. As soon as I'm done with Mia's exercise."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

There is a slight change in Xavouir after Wenomir talks of a fight. His posture changes, his smile fades. A voice completely separate from Xavouir's says: It would be my pleasure.

[Zefir]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

Mia will perform the parry and counter attack. Slightly slower then befor. She didn't await two times in a row.

"Wenomir, I got some plans for moving the island. I thought I did show them to you." Mia say and then continues with studies.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

((I forgot about Mia's plans, Zefir. Sorry about that.))

"Yes, you did," Wenomir says. "I must have forgot, sorry. We'll discuss it later. For now, take a break. We've got a long way to go, but I think it'll help you learn if we do it regularly."

He then looks at the sword.

"Kitty, I presume? A pleasure."

[Celticbear]

Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds

"Xavouir's" hand extends outward, and the black blade flies into it. "Xavouir" then puts it down, resting it on the ground.

When you are ready, I will let you make the first blow.

[Zefir]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

Mia nods. She takes the books away and then takes a seat at the edge of the training ground to watch the fight. "You won't mind me watching?" she asks both.

[Morty]

[Vigil Skybase / Training Grounds]

"I fully expect you to watch, Mia. Pay attention to what we do as best you can," Wenomir says, before walking over and picking up a longsword (http://artofswordmaking.com/gallery/metmuseum-longsword-15thc). Being a sapient weapon herself, Kitty will very likely notice that it's not a normal blade; or even fully physical. It seems to be an idea, or spirit, bound in physical form. "This weapon can deal non-lethal strikes, so I don't need to hold back."

He walks forward slowly, keeping the blade low, in one hand. Then he steps to his right, gripping the hilt with both hands, and performing a cut towards Xaviour's neck from his right... but then it becomes a diagonal cut from the left, in the blink of an eye.