[Chuubo's] Fortitude: The Glass-Maker's Dragon IC

[Tengu_temp]

At the same time, Natalia still beats herself up over the encounter, but not as much as directly after it. And important stuff occupies her mind at the moment - she has a monster to hunt. But before you hunt, you need to know where your prey is, and hopefully there is someone who can let her know. She's heading towards some of the town's rooftops, where the rats hang out - and she's not going there empty-handed. On the way she paid a visit to the bakery where her mom works, and got a few freshly baked breadrolls. These will serve the double purpose of a gift to the rats and field rations. Natalia can't help but feel a bit proud in the efficiency of this idea.

(The fact that they smell nice helps.)

[Crinias]

As Natalia walks down Smirnov Avenue she spots an ideal climbing spot - an ash tree going up all the way to the balcony of a house and its diagonal, tiled rooftops. Judging by the structure of the houses in the street, by going up to the roof of any of its houses, the others in the general vicinity should be easily accessible.

[Tengu_temp]

Natalia stares at the roof's angle for a few seconds, calculating in her head, and then throws the tied bag with the breadrolls up there, aiming at the part next to the tree, where it would lie down waiting for her instead of rolling down. With her hands free, she can now start climbing the tree itself with athletic movements. Seems it's a very tree-climbing day for her.

[Sanguine]

Leonardo groaned at the new arrival. Not because he disliked Rinley, well no more than anyone else anyway. But rather the young scientist had never really been very good with people, and now he had two very unusual people to deal with. "Hello Rinley. I am not surprised you do not know such things. After all do the people celebrate me for illuminating the darkness? No! Nor do the vampires curse my name. True genius is never appreciated."

[Terraoblivion]

"Oh...Hearts are spiritual? I thought they were just a bit of meat that people need to survive." Well, that explained something, though she wasn't entirely sure why that specific meat was more spiritual than a toe or a nose. It was probably some human thing. "What happens when you switch hearts?"

As Leonardo started complaining, Jasper's expression grew a bit darker. "What ungrateful jerks! Don't they care how the world was restored and everything?" It brightened quickly as she bowed ever so slightly. "Thank you. I'd thought that everything was over until I saw the new sun. If you hadn't done it...I don't think there would have been a world."

[Sanguine]

Leonardo perked up visibly visibly at Jasper's reaction, and with a wide grin and wild gesticulations exclaimed. "Thank You! That's all I wanted, just a little bit of appreciation."

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Have a "Gratitude Hands" XP

[Crinias]

A very tree-climbing day indeed. It's strange, Natalia manages to climb up the tree with ease, but she can't help but feel a nagging feeling, as though she wasn't suited to ash trees. Most odd.

Still, she manages to get up to the roofs with little difficulty. The bag with the breadrolls is right where she calculated it would land, as well.

Glancing around her, Natalia has a good vantage point of most houses in the nearby vicinity, and she notices that this is a good spot from which to view the great Big Lake blue in the distance. Most roofs in the general area are tiled and not so sharply angled that she'd have difficulty walking around here.

Still, it seems rather difficult to believe that rats have adventures up here. Like, how does that even work? There doesn't seem to be enough space for monsters up here, or more importantly, the atmosphere of Fortitude makes it hard to believe that such things would occur around here.

Speaking of rats, it takes Natalia a minute or two of looking around to sight a trio of them making their way across the roofs, a pair of streets away. Judging by the layout of the area, it wouldn't exactly be easy to cross the roofs separating the two of you, but it's certainly no problem for someone of Natalia's talents.

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Sorry for the delay. I'm going to assume that Natalia doesn't know about the Far Roofs yet. Also, I'm going to assign a 1-point Obstacle to working your way around the roofs separated by the streets, because it's hard to find a proper spot from which to jump safely across them.

[Geostationary]

"Hmm. Think of it this way- there's the heart, which is the muscly organ in people's chests that pumps blood, then there's the heart, the bit of you that makes you you that contains your hopes and dreams and wishes and soul. Way back when, people thought the heart (as in the organ) was the seat of all emotion, but with the advent of heart transplants that's been mostly disproved, I think- but we still call all that stuff the heart! When I swap them, all that seems to happen is that you swap bodies, but I've not used it very much. It's kind of rude to use it without asking, for one, and I think some people find it disheartening to suddenly be someone else."
Rinley enjoys talking about this, as it leads to all sorts of stories and discussions, and she's something of an expert on hearts and stories.
"Restarting the sun is pretty cool, and people never seem to believe what I've been up to either. At last, 'tis our curse!" It's hard to tell how serious Rinley is being, what with the dramatic gesturing, but you can see she's sincere. It's hard to get people to listen to your folkloric exploits! They're all "of course you did Rinley, now run along now" and thinking how cute you can be after you tell them about the time you pulled a thorn from the paw of a kaiju while piloting a thimble around Big Lake, or when you prepared stone soup to get out of being eaten by ogres. Being a folk hero is such a burden sometimes.

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I figure legends 1 and being the Domain [Wishing Power of the Heart!] person would let me know random beliefs about the nature of the heart. I could fabricate a story about it if I need to as well.
Also, wow, I really like italics.

[Tengu_temp]

Natalia quickly scans the area to figure out where the gap between the roofs is the smallest, takes the position of a runner ready to start, and...
"Look out below!"
The rats can see a shadow quickly approaching from above, as Natalia takes a running jump and lands on the roof pretty close to them (but not dangerously close, she doesn't want to hurt or scare them) in a three-point pose, with both feet and a hand on the floor. Well, someone watches too much anime... The other hand is for holding the breadrolls.
"Hello.", she says calmly as if nothing just happened.

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Does this count as mid-scene? If yes, I'll use The Prodigy here to perform a perfect jump. If not, I'll spend Will.

[Terraoblivion]

Jasper just gave Leonardo a happy smile as he thanked her. Really, there was no need to, he'd done a great deed that deserved recognition!

And Rinley was saying something odd and interesting too. "So you didn't just swap hearts but the entire body? I can see why people wouldn't like that. It's odd enough to have a real body that gets red bumps on the face sometimes or pushes lots of air and goop out the nose." She fell quiet, biting her lip slightly. Maybe she'd always had it like that. It was all pretty hazy back when she was still in heaven rather than in the lower world, but it seemed wrong. Why would the home of the angel of the sun have something like sneezing? That just seemed bizarre and illogical. Then again, so was people switching hearts around and apparently that happened all the time down here.

[Crinias]

Natalia executes her jump in a perfect and impressive manner. She is simply the best at it, and the most anything anyone could do upon witnessing it is gasp and praise it simultaneously, like the rats do.

"Oh my!" says one on Natalia's left, clearly distinguishable for wearing what appears to be several belts with lots and lots of small rat-sized knives.
"What perfect posture!" says another, who wears a great blue cape and carries himself gracefully.
"They have a cave troll!" exclaims the third, who has a huge rat-sword strapped to his back, in a tone of dull surprise and shock.

The third's companions turn to him and give him looks that could melt butter like a hot knife.

"Please forgive Solo for his outburst," says the first rat. "He tends to say that a lot."

"Do not!" protests Solo, ineffectively.

The second rat smiles slightly, and Natalia can't help but feel that if this were an anime he'd be sweat-dropping like no one's business. But maybe that's just her. "I'm sorry, we're just startled is all. Solo has a worrying tendency to assume that anything surprising is a cave troll or an agent of a Mystery, or both. Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Introductions are in order. As we said, this is Solo, our friend here with the knives is Pandora and I'm Palpatine the Second. And who would you be?"

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I'll assume it's mid-scene already, so it's alright.

[Tengu_temp]

What amusing creatures. Natalia can't help but feel a bit more at ease. She kneels down to their level to introduce herself.
"My name is Natalia Koutolika, and I'm certain that if I were a cave troll, I'd know, so you don't have to worry. I am hunting the great golden serpent that appeared in the area recently. Have you heard anything about it?"

[The_Snark]

The Queen's Cafe is not, in Miramie Mesmer's opinion, a shining example of a cafe. It isn't bad. It produces coffee and serves it to customers in a timely manner, which, she supposes, is the whole point. It has croissants and pastries and little sandwiches available for people who want a little something more. But it all feels a little tired, utilitarian. There's no elegance here. No soul. It's just a place for people to stop by and get coffee when they don't feel like making it for themselves, that's all.

Nonetheless, it's a functioning coffee shop, and Miramie has decided she hasn't got the right to criticize until she can do better with her own cafe. Keeping a small shop open is harder than it looks from the outside. And so this afternoon finds her seated by the door in the Queen's Cafe, a notepad at her side already half-filled with jotted observations and questions for the owner. (Miramie is a great believer in notes and lists, books and treatises, the physical talismans of knowledge.)

If she were lucky, one of the regular workers would be sick or away visiting relatives in Horizon, and she could fill in to see how it's done from the inside (and earn a little money, too). But she isn't normally that lucky, and today is no different. So she sits at her vantage point by the window, pen at the ready, and watches the sleepy streets outside.

[Sanguine]

"Sneezing, eh? Can't stand it myself, an absolutely abominable experience. Almost as bad as being stabbed in the chest. Almost. In fact the last time I caught a cold I built a machine to sneeze for me..." Leonardo goes deathly silent for a moment, lost in memory, before shivering and saying. "It didn't work quite as I had hoped." As realization suddenly dawns on his face the young scientist slams his fist into his open palm and exclaims. "Cold! I had completely forgotten. I was getting hot chocolate!"

[Terraoblivion]

"I don't think it's that bad, just weird...But how does a machine sneezing for you even work?" Really, how could a machine do something your body did on its own for you? That seemed to go against everything she'd seen from the lower world so far. It'd be like getting somebody else to eat for you so you didn't feel hungry and she was quite aware that it just plain didn't work like that. If it did, she didn't have to worry about getting food as much as she had since getting here.

"...I need to deliver this message! Sorry, gotta go. They might not pay me if I'm too late." She smiled a bit sheepishly, before beginning to walk over towards the Queen's Cafe, right where Leonardo was likely to be heading too.

[Geostationary]

"Hot chocolate does sound pretty good right now. I wonder if I can get them to cook this fish?"
Rinley smiles to herself as she examines the... actually, she's not sure what kind of fish it is, but it's certainly a fish that she caught earlier. I'm going out for hot chocolate with some new friends. I never would have done this before; I'm growing out of my shell!

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"Growing up" XP for that quest. I'm bonding and getting drinks!

[Sanguine]

Marching up to the Queen's Cafe Leonardo slams open the doors and announces. "Rejoice simple baristas, for I, the illustrious Leonardo de Montreal have seen fit to grace your humble and mediocre establishment with my patronage!" Making his way to the front of the line Leonardo cuts in front of a large burly man in the middle of ordering and proclaims. "I shall have two of your largest hot chocolates." Turning to face Rinley he asks. "And what would you like?"

[Crinias]

The rats gasp collectively and quickly look at each other, then at Natalia, then at each other again, before engaging into a group huddle and begin whispering intensely, occasionally glancing at Natalia over their shoulders. After a few moments they leave the huddle and turn to her.

"Well," says Palpatine, after a moment’s thought, "how exactly do you know of this snake, and what does it concern you?"

[Geostationary]

"I, the to-be-legendary Rinley Yatskaya, shall also take one of your largest hot chocolates. Also, one of your fluffiest pastries, if you would, for what drink is complete without a light snack?" Rinley, caught up in Leonardo's bravado, joins in with the declarations, forgetting about the fish.

[Crinias]

The barista behind the counter, a young man in his twenties, stares in disbelief at both the young scientist and at the younger girl. The large burly man's jaw drops slightly, and is then raised back up. He turns around and walks away, not wanting to deal with these over-the top characters, and for good measure throws his hands up in the air while leaving as if to say "I'm 100% done."

A few other customers look your way and give you odd looks, but they quickly turn back to their own businesses.

The poor barista winces at losing a customer, but takes your orders nevertheless. Still, you can practically feel him glaring at you after he takes the money and gives you your orders.

[Tengu_temp]

"It's..." Natalia hesitates. What is she supposed to tell them? That the serpert is a part of her own self, the bitter, angry emotions that escaped when she couldn't save her own brother? There are limits to suspension of disbelief, even when you're speaking to talking rats in a dream-like environment.
"It's an extremely important matter to me. I released the snake by accident and it came to Fortitude at the same time as me. I have to track it down and neutralize it. Otherwise... If it hurts anyone, it would be my fault." Her expression is determined and serious.

[Terraoblivion]

Or maybe sneezes were special and different from other aspects of life in the lower world. It wasn't a fully satisfactory explanation, there didn't seem to be any reason why they would be. Still, it was as good a bet as any. Perhaps spirits did it and that was why they were so odd.

It was occupied by these thoughts that Jasper delivered the message, got a few bits of spare change to hopefully manage some kind of meal and returned to the café. After all, she'd finally met people willing to explain and who seemed to genuinely believe her when she said who she was rather than just brush it off with an "of course you are, dear" or "suuuure" or similar. So while Leonardo and Rinley were ordering, the sunny girl showed back up next to them. "Ah, I think I'll take a sandwich and some...milk tea, I guess."

[Crinias]

Palpatine considers Natalia's words silently. "I think I understand. Well, no point in keeping secrets from you if you're so firm in your purpose. Let us sit. It'll be more comfortable while explaining, as we might take a while to do so."

Nodding alongside Palpatine, the other rats follow his lead and sit on the roof, facing the lake.

Palpatine speaks while looking at the Lake. "Miss Koutolika, that snake is no ordinary monster. I don't know how much you know of it, but the rats of Fortitude know of it as Typhon, whose name is Outrage. It is one of our Mysteries, they who have plagued and fought us for time untold."

Solo and Pandora look at the lake impassively, as though they were waiting for their moment to speak. It's clear that they all take this subject very seriously. Briefly, Palpatine looks at Natalia's face, as though trying to judge how much information she knows already.

------------

The barista looks at the sunny girl oddly for a moment or two, but his expression returns to normal quickly. In light of the newest arrivals to his store, it probably wouldn't do at all to lose his cool. He fulfills his job adequately and delivers the food with only a bit of delay.

[Tengu_temp]

"I see. It must have brought you a lot of suffering already, then..." Natalia looks down, despirited, but then she returns her gaze to Palpatine again, this time with urgency. "Do you know anything about its current location? Even a hint of a trail will do! And if we need to travel far away, I came prepared." She raises the bag with breadrolls, completely serious.

[Crinias]

Palpatine blinks twice and quickly lifts his paws as though to deny Natalia's words. "Ah, it's not as you imagine, exactly. Typhon has indeed caused us rats trouble as a whole, but it's not as though we personally have suffered due to her. Nor is her appearance your fault."

"Not entirely her fault, you mean," says Pandora suddenly. "It's clear she knows nothing of the Mysteries, Palpatine, why not cut to the chase?"

Palpatine clicks his tongue and turns abruptly towards Pandora: "Oh, your words are most inappropriate."

"They are the truth, however," says Solo, while still looking towards the Lake. "Oh young girl," and here Solo looks at Natalia up and down, as though he wasn't entirely certain whether she was young (and possibly still wondering whether she's a cave troll), "to tackle the Mysteries directly, without knowing their legends, is to put yourself at the mercy of gods, or beings close to those. One must know their abilities, and their weaknesses, if they are to be successful in besting them, to kill them, and even then such methods may not work forever."

Solo's tone of voice grows slightly more jovial as he speaks, and it's clear he likes to speak of Mysteries, even though he still looks serious.

"For instance", he says very directly, "It is known that when Typhon appears, she dwells past Gallows Way in Madcap's Nave, below Dead Man's Manor. It is written thus in the Books of Names."

"It is also known that she cannot be killed unless stabbed in the eye with a blessed spear, or choked on her own weight, or one last way that eludes my memory," says Pandora with some mild uncertainty. "Mmm. This may seem a bit confusing, like how we know how to kill her even though it's clear she's alive right now... But to explain this properly, I would say that appearances are deceptive. Typhon is not just a great golden snake, it's just a form she takes. Bluntly, a thing can be more than a thing. Do you understand?"

[The_Snark]

A rude customer! Miramie sits up and straightens her notepad, watching carefully to see how the barista reacts. Most people in Fortitude are nice, so she hasn't gotten a chance to observe this yet. Handling rudeness is a vital part of customer service!

Apparently, the proper response is... nothing? A bit of a look? That doesn't seem right. You can't just let people get away with cutting in line, it isn't proper. What would the world come to if everyone did that? There'd be a whole lot more shoving, that's for sure. Cafes and shops would be terribly untidy. No, Miramie Mesmer isn't going to tolerate that in her shop. Perhaps a small surcharge for rudeness would be appropriate.

She jots this idea down on her notepad.

[Tengu_temp]

"So it's all like a myth, or perhaps a fantasy story..."
And one where the author didn't think too hard about the plot holes., Natalia adds in her head.
"I understand what you mean. It doesn't seem to be very logical, but I understand. Which means that before I fight Typhon, I need to learn all about her... Is the Book of Names something humans can read?"
She tries to recall where those streets the rat mentioned are, too. They really don't sound like normal Fortitude street names.

[Sanguine]

Finding the eccentric group a table near the door Nighmare's Angel sat down and began to sip his hot chocolate while lost in thought. The Outside storms were increasing in frequency. But why? The way he saw it there were, broadly speaking, three possible reasons: Something inside Town was attracting the Outside, Something outside Town was riling up the Outside, or the Outside was merely following some arcane natural cycle. Slamming his fist down on the table Leonardo exclaimed. "Damnation! I just don't have enough data to draw a conclusion! If I had access to some sort of record of historical storm frequency, now that would be a place to start. But where would I find something like that?"

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I shall claim a flavor xp for "working on my theories in a cafe near the Archive."

[Crinias]

"The Books of Names hold all the accumulated information rats have collected on the Mysteries, and some rats have transcribed some of their information so humans may know of them. Oh, what was his name?" says Pandora, turning towards his companions.

Palpatine answers without batting a whisker: "Filimer Augustine, and the book he wrote was, as I recall, 'The Mysteries, for a Human Child'."

"Found on any local bookstore that knows the importance of rat culture and the safety of human children," says Solo appreciatively, all the while nodding.

"If it helps, Mysteries tend to run under their own logic. But us rats, we have worked out most of their logic, ways to avoid them, their weapons, the signs of their approach-"

"For instance, storms tend to be heralds to Typhon," cuts in Pandora suddenly. "Although..." He seems a bit hesitant after using storms as an example.

"One would think that even as heralds of Typhon, there have been a large amount of them as of lately," says Solo thoughtfully.

There's a brief moment of silence as they all consider this. Then, as if to make the atmosphere less tense, all three rats look at Natalia suddenly, then at her bag, then back at her. Their desires are clearly written upon their faces, as if to say: "Food helps move conversations along."

[Tengu_temp]

Is all this such common knowledge here that you can learn it from a children's book?
Natalia suddenly feels even more out of place than before. But she tries to remember all this info to the best of her ability.

Reading very obvious body language is another thing the Prodigy excels at! Natalia opens the bag and puts one breadroll in front of each of the rats, still somewhat warm. She grabs the last one herself and takes a bite.
"Please go on.", she says, trying to look as serious and dignified as you can with a mouth full of bread.