Skyside 6: Return of the Cheddar

[Earl of Purple]

Fissure

The book starts to burn properly now, and the book seems to scream. A harsh, metallic screech that assails the ears and makes the half-elf wince and drop their arbalest as they clutch their ears instead.

The book also flips to some other pages, ultraviolet glyphs appearing the air above it and entwining with the fire. The book is loosening the bindings around the soul held within, trying to combine the flames Kothar's using against it with the book's own necromantic energies and the soul trapped within to forge an undead spirit of fire and darkness.

[5a Violista]

[having left the Smooth Stew Bar]

It's okay, she can have it the next time she's around.

"Yeah. Maybe I'll come here again," she says. She waves.

Harley then walks off to let continuity catch up with her.

[bc56]

Fissure

Kothar shudders at the inhuman scream, and continues his attack, trying to shear away pages from the book before it can complete its current spell. It seems to always cast from the pages it's open to, so if he can destroy those, he can stop it from casting.

[Earl of Purple]

Fissure

The pages that are sliced off drift to one side and the book slams shut once more, opening again at another page. Ultraviolet light flares into the shape of other glyphs, a spell that should stop Kothar in a frozen moment of time for a minute, so it has some time to repair itself by reversing time upon itself until the damage is undone. It's still screeching as it goes, and the half-elf is struggling to focus over the noise.

[Arkhosia]

Spoiler: Previously, on Skyside...

Show

[Feline Follower]

The blonde catgirl had spent quite a few miserable, boring days hanging out keeping watch in this area of Skyside, looking for her mark. But at last, she had found her. That girl had to be her. From a distance, Elizabeth was sure she recognized the face of her target, Mara, and everything else seemed to match. The hair was... a little off, but people got haircuts all the time right? So who else could it be? And so she flipped up her hood, and began to follow the woman she had tracked down at last. She didn't look the type, but Mara held a pretty significant position in a particular corporation Elizabeth had been trying to investigate. And also steal from them, but y'know, if her suspicions were correct about some of the things the company had been up to, she wouldn't feel the tiniest bit guilty about it. If she could stick close to Mara for some time, she might learn some helpful information. She might even find out where she lives! Unbeknown to Elizabeth as she made her way through the crowd, keeping her focus ahead on her mark, she had made a mistake. One teeny tiny little error. She wasn't actually following the woman called Mara....

[Purrfect Pursuits]

It’s been a few months since her last run-in with any local band of undead hunters, but Fidelia hasn’t grown any less fretful about them. That whole brief fiasco really shook her up a little, reminded her just how damn careful you need to be around here - after all, having a place to live doesn’t make the streets any less dangerous to spend time in. So when that lady left Charles Barkley Donuts almost immediately after her, Fi’s paranoia started kicking back in. She starts to pick up the pace, moving through the thinning crowd with practiced ease and clutching the small bag in her hand a little nervously.

[Tabby Trailing]

The increase in the supposed Mara's pace does not go unnoticed by Elizabeth. Oh bugger, had she really been spotted already? She picks up the pace to match, but tries to stay just perhaps a little further out of sight, hoping that her target wouldn't notice with a little bit of luck. However the crowd of people was thinning now, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for the thief and hacker to blend in. Curse her luck!

[Calico Conspiracy]

While the thinning crowd may make it harder for Liz to hide, it also makes it harder for Fi to lose her. She isn’t entirely sure if she’s managed to, too unwilling to rip her hand by glancing back, but she starts looking for side streets to duck into, routes to lose her possible pursuer in. Man, if this girls just going the same way coincidentally it’ll be very embarrassing.

[Meow Movement Mystery]

Elizabeth noticed that her target didn't seem to look back like she was searching for anyone, so thought that maybe she actually had managed to stay undetected? It was much easier to keep her in sight now, and she did her best to act casual. As she sort-of walked at an oddly fast pace to keep up with her mark. Yeah, surely nothing suspicious about a hooded figure doing that. Her tail twitched a little anxiously behind her as she moved. Was she even doing this whole trailing thing right? Well, she obviously had the right target, surely she couldn't mess that up, but what if there was something else? She frankly was much better at the jobs where she could just sit inside in front of a computer.

[Is This Analog Doxxing?]

Fidelia keeps walking at a brisk pace for a while, not looking back, until she passes a nearby alleyway. Suddenly, with a glance back, she ducks into it and starts to run.

[That One Annoying Compulsory Trailing Mission]

The catgirl perhaps chose the worst moment to let her guard slip. She had just started to come to the conclusion that she hadn't, in fact, been spotted, so she was slow to react when Fidelia darted into the alleyway. Oh [SHOOT], she had been noticed! Elizabeth broke into a sprint, chasing after who she thought was Mara into the alley.

WARNING: Reduce distance to target

Fidelia steals a glance back as she turns a corner, only to see Elizabeth running down the alleyway. Damn, not fast enough! Darting past a sleeping Thri-Kreen huddled in blankets, she spots a trash can up ahead and tips it on the ground as she passes.

[Fi Flees]

Throwing a trashcan in the way? That seems a bit cliche, doesn't it? Elizabeth continued the chase, ignoring the laying figure and leaping over the bin. She wasn't the most athletic of people but the bin wasn't too large, and she had the reflexes of... err well, a cat. Damn, that was a bit cliche too. She had to keep on the tail of her target though. She's searched for far too long to just let her slip away!

Brave Squire Fi

Fi doesn't risk slowing down by looking behind her, knocking over some more debris as they run by the back door of a seedy banthaburger joint. Spotting a break in the ersatz little avenue to the main street, she ducks into it, halting her pace and preparing to surprise the catgirl with a backhand to where she anticipates the woman's face will be once she turns the corner.

[bc56]

Fissure

Once again, Kothar's shield flares as the magic strikes him, the power inside it consuming more energy from the attack. Kothar isn't about to let the book heal itself again. He passes the axe up between his teeth and draws a knife, aiming to drive it through the book's pages and pin them together, preventing them from turning freely.

[Earl of Purple]

Fissure

The book is impaled, pages stuck together. The scream gets louder, before abruptly stopping. The ultraviolet glyphs that had been hanging in the air fade and disappear. Either the book is 'dead', or it's faking it and hoping Kothar will leave it alone.

The half-elf takes their hands off their ears and stoops to pick up the arbalest and load another heavy quarrel into it.

[Morty]

[VIGIL Arrival]

...
Yeah.
That's a good point.
It would be helpful to differentiate the people who went missing just because it's dangerous and the people who went missing because of the company.

"I'd bet most of them went missing the same way, but it is Skyside. People go missing there on occasion. It'd be strange if there were no false positives."

Anyway, "Yeah. Um. Bye," she says. She waves at Reinholdt as she leaves, but takes her water with her because it's not finished yet.


The bunnygirl leaves the office and waits for Calm Reed to come along, to leave the base and head to Skyside. "So, you ever been to Skyside? I've been there enough times to know my way around, but not enough to have heard of Olympian Extractions.'

"I have been here before," the monk declares. "It's a wretched place. But I have not heard of this company either. Surely it is just one of many in this city."

[5a Violista]

[Investigating Olympian Extractions]

Carlie, a slightly-noticeably pregnant bunnygirl, says, "Yeah, there really are a lot of factories around here." They've gone to the Thunderhead section because of the abundance of factories here.

It's uncharacteristically cold right now.
Carlie folds her arms to stay warmer. "Let's find a factory quickly, yeah?"

[bc56]

Fissure

Kothar draws another knife and stabs it into the book's pages on the other side. "Come. Help destroy it." He beckons to the half-elf.

[Hattish Thing]

Thunderhead District - The Refinery

Snow falls in bittercold curtains over the Thunderhead District, covering scores of abandoned warehouses, crumbling apartments, and struggling businesses in an expansive blanket of ice. The dark, overcast sky above flashes periodically as lightning streaks through the clouds, clumps of wet flakes drifting windlessly down onto the buildings below. A harsh wind howls through the labyrinthine streets of the district below, producing flurries of snow. Despite the snowstorm which threatens to worsen as time passes, throngs of haggard workers march ever onward into the distance.

It is not difficult to find something representative of the Olympian Extractions corporation, for nearly a quarter of the district has been bought up under its name. Company stores loom over battered streets, while crumbling company lodgings stacked high into the sky rise over the urban squalor. Great husks of old buildings are cramped together, flanked by derelict buildings which stick out like rows of broken teeth. Garbage has been piled up messily in various alleys, and a number of abandoned vehicles form makeshift barricades which close off the worst of the area from the rest.

At this area's highest point, an enormous facility can be seen. The facility appears to be a sprawling, unfathomably expansive joint structure composed of numerous refineries and power plants whose dozens of smokestacks spew foul black smoke into the murky air above. Neon lights glare whilst overburdened powerlines spark and thrum, snowflakes melting on contact. Enormous pipes flow from the factory throughout the rest of skyside as veins would, spewing all manner of wasteful byproduct down onto the land below. Scores of trucks move to and from the lots outside the facility at all times, and though the sky is dark, the area surrounding the facility is bright as can be.

A huge electric fence surrounds the entire facility beyond. It's about a twenty-minute walk to the front gates.

Spoiler: The Refinery

Show

---

[Cloudtop Penthouse]

Hades glances anxiously up towards Persephone as she turns back to face him, an surprise of unease upon his face. He hadn't expected her to actually listen to what he had to say. Now he was on the spot, and it made him dreadfully nervous. For all his wealth and power, nothing was more satisfying than her approval, fleeting as it was. He clasps his hands together before breathing in deeply, shoulders lowering as he exhales. "Oh, it's - it's right here." Wordlessly, the god reaches for his desk once more, retrieving something from the third lowest drawer. It's a small, black velvet box about the size of the palm of one's hand.

With a blank look upon his face, Hades sets it down upon the desk before him. "Well, go on then. It's for you."

---

[Petroldactyl - Lobby]

With a smile, Hades simply nods. "No worry at all, I'm a patient man." A lie, of course, although this unnecessary excursion had offered Hades the brief respite from the duties of management which he so desired.

"I'll be right here."

---

[The Silken Whisper]

Larza cringes as she strides back through the building. "Heard what?"

"I'll just... follow you."

[Earl of Purple]

The Silken Whisper

Downstairs Larza and Minerva go! They'll see Zee and the formerly-infected girl she's just cured leaving one of the rooms Minerva walked past. The girl is wearing a large jacket she's buttoned up and a pair of loose sandals. The next room that Zee and the girl check had one of the cultists in. The girl in here is currently hiding under the bed, but as she's chained to the bed by her ankle, her foot is sticking out. She's got dark skin, bright blue eyes and a shaved head, and there's boots and clothing around the place. Also a riding crop lying on the bed and a chainsword propped against the door, well out of the hiding person's reach.

Fissure

The half-elf nods and puts their arbalest down, drawing instead their wooden sword. The book's been stabbed in the other side, and detonates in another blast of energy- this one trying to age everything within its radius. It can't stop being stabbed, and if Kothar swings his axe again it won't be able to respond.

[Morty]

[Thunderhead District - The Refinery]

Calm Reed stops a ways out from the gate. She surveys her surroundings grimly. More squalor and poverty. It's shameful what is allowed without the proper guidance of Dragon-Blooded. Maybe she can fix one particular injustice here...

"We need to think about our strategy here," she tells Carlie. "If we just stroll in and start demanding answers, they are liable to show us the door, or worse."

[5a Violista]

[Cloudtop Penthouse]

Persephone pauses, and thinks. It's the way he's acting that's making her pause.
"I-it's just because our anniversary is coming up," she says, feeling the need to deny that she actually cares about it. If she actually cares about it, and it is something awful like she's half-hoping it is, then it will be harder to be dispassionate and uncaring. And while, yes, she does care about it, she'd much rather not. Saying she doesn't care about it makes it easier to not care. "Don't think it'll work if it's any other day."

She bites her lower lip, and walks back to him.

Half-afraid, half-curious, she snatches the box and opens it.


[Thunderhead District - The Refinery]

Carlie looks up at the refinery. It's pretty...huge. Bleak. She doesn't like it.

"Sure," Carlie says, shivering a little. She expected it to get cold because they're so high in the sky, but not this cold. But if it makes things easier, she's okay with staying out here for a bit longer. "You think we should go straight to Len Morris, or ask coworkers about Robert?" she asks. Since that's something they definitely need to decide on before heading in past security.

"But getting in is probably our first thing we need to decide."
"There's really no government regulation in Skyside, so we couldn't pretend to be official safety regulators," she reasons, "but maybe we could say we're an independent inspection firm hired?" But wait. "If we do that, they'd just call the higher-ups to verify and ask who hired us. We could say 'Mr. Morris' but that could backfire. Maybe still independent contractors, offering our service to fix inefficiencies. Then they'd expect us to ask questions from both higher-ups and the workers, and they'd try to be truthful whenever it's relevant."

That's her idea. "What do you think about it? Any other ideas?"

[Hattish Thing]

[Thunderhead District - The Refinery]

As the pair of investigators discuss potential strategies, a man stumbles out from within a nearby alleyway as if pushed. His face is bruised and bloodied, and he lands hard upon the icy pavement, cracking an elbow upon the unforgiving ground. He yelps in agony as he attempts to crawl away. A pair of men clad in tattered vests and long, winter coats step out from the alley, one carrying a wooden baseball bat stained with blood, the other seemingly unarmed. The larger, unarmed man strides over to the fallen victim before lifting him up into the air by the back of the wounded man's suspender straps.

With a grunt, the large man throws the injured one out into the abandoned street, where he lands with another pained cry. The thug with the baseball bat walks calmly to where the victim now lies clutching at a broken knee.

"No more, please! I get it, I get it!"

---

[Cloudtop Penthouse]

Hades shrugs and waves a hand dismissively, muttering as he does so. "I know, I know." In an attempt to soften the blow of what was likely to come, he reaches down for the second door, retrieving a pair of polished crystal glasses. He sets both out upon matching ebonwood coasters, sliding one over towards Persephone. A bottle of fine, aged whiskey follows. After two pours, he raises a glass and sets the bottle down. "Neat, the way you like it." The god of the underworld takes a long drink before frowning slightly, glancing out towards a nearby window. "To us, I suppose."

The inside of the small box is crafted of fine black velour, and contains a large, sparkling ring. Rows upon rows of fine diamonds encircle a band of black gold, whilst three enormous diamonds serve as the major focal point of the piece. The bright, white diamonds stand in glorious contrast against the inky, matte gold. As Persephone opens the box, Hades speaks. "Little something to replace that old wooden band of yours. I'm a man of means, nowadays, and the ring on your finger should show that much, at least." He continues, wringing his hands. "I remember the day I asked you to marry me. Spent the better part of a week on the ring, carved it out of that favorite wood of yours."

"Felt ashamed to have to offer you something so cheap. Look how far we've come."

"Put it on."

Spoiler: Ring

Show

[bc56]

Fissure

Kothar grunts as yet another magical blast washes over him. His shield once again takes the brunt of the effect, but the knives he stuck into the book are unprotected, their wooden handles rotting with age and their steel blades sprouting coats of rust. He lifts his axe again, chopping down at the spine of the book with an aggressive stroke.

[Earl of Purple]

Fissure

The half-elf isn't as protected as Kothar. Their wooden armour cracks and rots, and they fall over. Their sword looks to be fine, however.

Kothar's axe cleaves almost effortlessly through the book's spine, and metal pages slide apart- except where the rusty knives hold them together. The podium holding the book cracks, a large chunk falling to the floor.

[bc56]

Fissure

With the book destroyed, Kothar turns and watches the half-elf fall. He rushes to the other adventurer's side. "No!" His hands glow with light as he reaches out to touch the injured half-elf, pouring vitality and healing power into them.

[Earl of Purple]

Fissure

Healing... won't do much, alas. The half-elf isn't injured, in fact they're fit and healthy as a half-elf half their age. The problem is their age. Whereas before they looked quite young, perhaps late twenties or early thirties, they've aged a lot as a result of that explosion. They now look to be in their late sixties, possibly a bit older. Their green skin is lined with wrinkles, their hair has turned grey and has gotten thinner and they're looking at the back of their hand in shock and horror.

[Rebonack]

[The Silken Whisper]

"I know where the other cultists are. One's looking to buy a motor bike and the other is getting some recreational chemicals from a local gang. Or at least that's what the last cultist knew. He didn't know specifically where his fellows went but we've got somewhere to start," Zee informs the others. "But that'll have to wait a bit. I need to clean up the mess our friends left here first. If you two want to start searching without me that's fine. I don't know Skyside that well myself to begin with."

Then she'll head into the bedroom and kneel down near the end of the bed.

"Hey," she calls out in a soft, gentle tone. "Are you hurt?"

She can answer that question on her own, obviously. But she isn't asking the question for her benefit.

To the slave girl Zee's question conveys more information than the simple words alone.

They communicate her compassion and worry for the woman's safety.

Zee is good. Zee is trustworthy. Zee is here to help.

[Morty]

[Thunderhead District - The Refinery]

Calm Reed is about to say something and keep making plans, but then something happens that she can't ignore if she can help it instead.

"...let us get back to it in a moment. We have a situation to defuse first." Without waiting for Carlie's reaction, she strides towards the altercation, locking a cold and determined gaze with the attackers. "You. Leave him alone and run while I am allowing you to."

[Shadowcaller]

The Silken Whisper

Minerva nods to Zee, but makes no comments. The fact she was still wearing her helmet even now suggested that she wasn't too interested in socializing with anyone here.
She seem to wait for Zee to be done, her hands never going to far from her weapons as she inspects their sorroundings. "Looks like we're done here soon." She finally remarks to no one in particular.

[Petroldactyl - Lobby]

Soon enough, Amy returns. "Mr. Kelligan says he can see you right away." She gestures towards hallway she just came out from. "If you would just follow me..."

She will lead him to a office that is considerably more fancy than the crude mess of a base sorrunding it. The door must be the only thing made of wood besides the couch as even the chairs are made of cheap plastic. Kelligan's chair is not however. It seems to have been carved out from a single piece of what must been a massive block of wood only to be fitted with a seat too small for any adult human. Indeed, the chair is several times Kelligan's size despite the goblin likely being one of the largest Hades had seen so far. It wasn't just girth, even if the goblin probably didn't do too much workouts, Kelligan was tall for a goblin too and the high position of his seat made him look even taller.

"Hello-hello there. What exactly can I help you with, pal? You don't look like someone who'd waste my time." There were several pictures and diplomas hanging around the room which all seemed to be angled towards the door.
Kelligan is wearing a pair of half-circle shaped glasses and a purple suit that was embrodied with what looked like actual gold. But while his outfit was fancy and his body out of shape, it at least looked like he had done some hard work in his life judging by how muscular his arms were.

[5a Violista]

[Thunderhead District - The Refinery]

Oh
Yes, that would be a situation to maybe diffuse.

Carlie follows over but keeps her distance - after all, Calm Reed was the one hired to be the the muscle, and if Carlie gets too close there's a chance she could be taken as a hostage in this small altercation. That...would not be a good thing.


[Cloudtop Penthouse]

Persephone reaches to the glass and drinks...but only a little.
Can't get drunk, after all: she still has to get back and stop the dead from escaping the underworld and returning to the land of the living.

After seeing the ring, she reaches towards it. It looks nice, yeah. But, before she can grab it, he explains how it's to replace the wooden ring. "Replace? Cheap? But I liked it." Her eyes narrow.

She debates whether to close the box and set it back down, throw it back at him, or just accept it.

Ultimately, she decides to put it on, but she doesn't take off the wooden ring. They're both sitting right next to each other on her finger. The contrast between the two - the wooden ring paired with the elegant and expensive ring - looks a little odd. They don't really look that good together. Definitely don't match at all.

"There. But only because of the occasion."

[bc56]

Fissure

"You... Okay?" Kothar asks. He's not sure what to do about this. He's not sure he can do anything about this. It doesn't seem to be something which can be undone, at least not in any way available to him.

[Earl of Purple]

Fissure

"I'm... I'm old! How will I tell my family? Oh, vengeful gods, what shall I do?" They're not very old, they're just past late middle age. But that's considerably older than when they woke up this morning. They don't seem to be taking it well.

It could possibly be undone by a Restoration-type spell, something to undo a magical change that isn't quite a curse.

[Meowmai]

Brave Squire Fi

Fi doesn't risk slowing down by looking behind her, knocking over some more debris as they run by the back door of a seedy banthaburger joint. Spotting a break in the ersatz little avenue to the main street, she ducks into it, halting her pace and preparing to surprise the catgirl with a backhand to where she anticipates the woman's face will be once she turns the corner.

[Persistent Paws]
Elizabeth is slowed down somewhat by the various debris and trash thrown in her path, but she still manages to keep on the tail of her mark- if barely. She gasped out a string of curses. This really, really hadn't supposed to have happened like this.

She was so occupied in her own thoughts cursing herself that it hadn't even occurred to her that her target might have stopped and been waiting for her when she stumbled around the corner.

Fi's backhand caught her completely off guard, and she stumbled backwards, swearing in pain while clutching her nose. Oh [FRICK] that hurt. Tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes from the pain, the catgirl unused to taking much more punishment than a stubbed toe or papercut. She certainly wasn't expecting a smack like that to come from Mara, someone who as far as Elizabeth knew was just a businesswoman and nothing more. She scrambled backwards away from the other woman, in case another strike came her way, all the while beginning to feel blood drip from her nose and onto her fingers. Mentally, she tried to prepare herself to continue the chase should her mark take off running, or try to dodge out of the way should 'Mara' look for a fight.

[bc56]

Fissure

"I know not if I can heal this." Kothar looks the aged half-elf over quizzically. "Maybe I try?" He doesn't sound very confident in his ability to do so.

[Earl of Purple]

Fissure

"Please, just... try. I don't want to be old." They've jumped in age faster than even a human would; in moments they nearly look older than their oldest human cousin.

Powerful magic might be able to reverse the ageing, but I'm not sure how powerful Kothar's magic is.

[bc56]

Fissure

Kothar stretches out his hand and begins a prayer in Draconic. The divine power he channels is intended to break ongoing enchantments, and it isn't 100% reliable, so it might fail, but Kothar is not a weak spellcaster by any means. He is highly favored by his goddess.

[Earl of Purple]

Fissure

It's not an enchantment, and the magic involved is not ongoing- it had its effect when the book exploded. What the half-elf needs is an effect which reverses magical damage and corruption, as that's what induced the ageing. Even so, there is some effect, and the half-elf doesn't feel their age as much as they did before. They don't change in appearance, however.