Skyside 6: Return of the Cheddar

[Hattish Thing]

[Warehouse of Payne]

Lightning strikes the shuttle, scorching several metal panels and frying a speaker or two. There are at least two dozen speakers, however. Within the shuttle, Dr. Valiance considers a plan of action. He was being shot at from the outside, it seems. Now, unfortunately, his shield wouldn't be particularly useful against the electric weapons there. That's a bad thing, as he probably wouldn't survive electrocution. The bolts came from somewhere high in elevation, though. That meant that the paralytic gas would soon reach the gunner, allowing for some cover.

Unless they were to somehow grapple away beforehand. Perhaps they weren't aware, though? Hm. A lot to think about. Then, Anika rushes out, transforming into a bear. Her cyclone magic clears a path forward. That was one less thing to worry about! "Great job, Ani! Give 'em hell, baby!"

"Okay, Felicity. Stay close. Bee, shield us!"

--

At that, the drone begins to emit a large scale shield which should afford cover to all within five feet of it, including itself.

Dr. Valiance rushes out after Anika, but does not charge after Payne. Instead, he notices the woman with the baseball bat. Oh, she looked scary. Fortunately, he had an idea! He'll reach into his coat as he approaches, retrieving a retrofuturistic firearm. "I hope this doesn't kill you, if it does - I am sorry!" At that, he'll turn its gauge to the highest possible concentration of sound before firing the extra-aural sonic pistol. It doesn't make a sound, at least not one audible to human ears.

However, the aluminum woman will surely feel its effects if the cone of sound connects, all 450 decibels of which ought to shatter her.

Spoiler: Sonic Pistol

Show

---

[Drug Bust]

Larza clacks her goblin claws against the metal of the radio tower as she listens in on the conversation. Though her kind were born without magic, they possessed other, more practical gifts; a fine sense of hearing, sharp fangs and claws, and a knack for remaining unseen.

An equal weight in drugs? That's nonsense. Oh, good - they thought so, too.

At least they were dealing with sensible dealers.

--

They were close to a deal. Would currency be exchanged here and now?

If so, well... that made things easy.

For now, wait!

Patience.

---

[Olympian Extractions - Foreman's Office]

The foreman reclines back in her chair, enjoying puffs of her cigarette as Magtok explains his position.

She'll remain quiet as Magtok goes on, nodding towards certain designs but for the most part remaining difficult to read.

--

Once he's finished, she'll lean forward and smirk.

"How much for the schematics?"

"Just the schematics, honey."

[Rebonack]

[Drug Bust]

For her part Zee is strolling around to the other side of the building by a somewhat circuitous route. With her outfit she blends into the surroundings pretty well.

Not... like.

Into the buildings.

What with their rust and rotted concrete and sheet metal and stuff.

With the other pedestrians in Skyside.

She looks like some kind of fantasy gunslinger what with that wide brimmed hat, coat, and scarf of hers flapping in the breeze.

Very dramatic!

Hopefully no one tries to mug her.

[5a Violista]

[Olympian Extractions - Investigation (Factory Floor)]

"Mhm."
Carlie tries her best to not need to hold onto the handrails - especially since she was told how easily they fall down.

She follows. Wow, it is really hot in here. Nice contrast to the cold outside, but it will probably get awful later. "No, I can breathe fine," she says.

Actually...maybe it might be good to let this guy have the option of contacting them? In case things go wrong. Having more people who might give them information later increases the chance they'll learn something. So, Carlie hands over a phone number to the Mr Schmidt, just like she did with that nurse-lady. "Hey, if you need anything, feel free to call here, right?"

[Shadowcaller]

Slave Street Meeting the Guildmasters

"A pleasure doing business with you." He then turns to Jaahlyn who seems to know what to do and uses a stick to undo the circle that she made.

Then the scene can end.

[Drug Bust]

Minerva will also wait. Letting the other two keep watch while she provided some light maintenance to her weapon and reloads it.

Other than that there isn't much to do.

[Lord Magtok]

[Olympian Extractions - Foreman's Office]

The foreman reclines back in her chair, enjoying puffs of her cigarette as Magtok explains his position.

She'll remain quiet as Magtok goes on, nodding towards certain designs but for the most part remaining difficult to read.

--

Once he's finished, she'll lean forward and smirk.

"How much for the schematics?"

"Just the schematics, honey."

Magtok blinks. The schematics? Is she...is she serious?

"Meggie, I don't think you understand. I already have the infrastructure to put this all together. It's just sitting at home, waiting for something to do. You people have your own workers and manufacturing here, but-" he gestures vaguely towards the filthy workers down below. She thinks these people and their crummy assembly lines can compare to the sleeping giant that is the MagCave's own unrivaled manufacturing output? She's kidding, right? It's understandable she wouldn't trust him with all of this, but look at this place.

"You can have the giant spider mech. It's not strictly necessary, it's just one of those attention-grabbing things to keep the adventurer types busy while the bulk of your forces attend to other matters, so it won't be a complete tragedy when your people utterly fail to grasp the nitty-gritty details involved in its construction and you have nothing to show for your insistence on developing things in-house," Magtok magnanimously offers, his voice dripping with cynicism. He doesn't believe in this place. He doesn't believe it'll accomplish half what it's aiming for. VIGIL or HALO or some other band of nutjobs crusading for justice will find out what's going on, and while they might devote much time and energy to systemic problems like Skyside's slavery troubles or the wealth divide in Riverside, the moment they hear 'urban warfare,' their collective hero instincts are going to fire off all at once and Olympian Extractions will be little more than a hole in the ground by this time next year. If they let him take care of constructing their security forces, at least it'll be their own hubris and inept leadership that ruins everything; not the rustbucket budget army falling apart all around them.

[Hattish Thing]

[Olympian Extractions - Foreman's Office]

Oh, she's very serious. Gone is any semblance of a grin - this is business.

All this talk of infrastructure. This wasn't about creating stability, nor was it necessarily even about the security. "Do you know what it is I do here, honey?" She cuts in at that. Its sharp, sudden; a gilded knife. "I don't build. I don't create." The foreman leans forward here, pointing a fat finger towards Magtok. "I keep the wheel moving." Always moving, grinding into dust anything and anyone caught beneath it. "You think this god damn factory means something? You think we're buying you for protection?" There's a scoff. It's wet, it gurgles in her throat as if caught there. "Naw, honey. We're buying you for momentum."

Ms. Meggie licks her lips. They're two fat slugs sharing a cigar. "Do you know what we are? What Olympian Extractions really is?" At this point, she was working herself up. Almost frothing at the mouth. "We are banks, grocery stores, railways, and tenement homes." A glorious exchange, two hands - one giving to the other - both belonging to the same suited man. "We are the guns, we are the water, we are the lightning in your television. We are the supply and the demand." It was all an abstract, a game whose only winners are the ones who keep the game going. "Your ideas are worth more to us than your finished product, cyborg."

"Now, you can walk away here - it don't matter much to me, baby."

"But you might as well make some god damn cash while you're on top of the wheel, rather than underneath it."

[Lord Magtok]

Olympian Extractions - Foreman's Office

This is better for him, really. He gets to wash his hands of everything early, deny that he ever had anything to do with this. If Ms. Meggie is so insistent on marching her organization into an even earlier grave, so be it. Fine. Magtok offered a quality product, and was turned down for...for what? For the sake of some metaphorical wheel? This is madness. Let them burn, let them all rot, let them march right into an open coffin while he watches from afar and counts his money without a care in the world. Magtok will outlive all of today's chaos and tomorrow's calamities. He always has and he always will.

"The worst place to be is under the wheel. The second-worst is to be the fool running on top of the damn thing. You're not the first to try to keep up with it, and you won't be the last," he scowls, though his reticence to let her anywhere near his schematics has more or less completely faded away. Naked ambition and heartless avarice on this kind of grand scale always gets slapped down, as MagCorp's own prior failings can attest. No one can say he didn't at least try, though. The Nexus will take care of the rest from here.

"Give me a weekend to dumb down the schematics. After that, it's your mess, and I don't want to hear anything about clankers that won't walk right," he concedes, the costs involved cut significantly, but still nothing to scoff at. Magtok's still asking for more than most people will see in their entire lives just for some drawings of robots and attack drones.

[Hattish Thing]

[Olympian Extractions - Foreman's Office]

Ms. Meggie leans back in her chair at this point.

She narrows her coal-eyes, blackened embers burning in their sockets. "Oh, but you forget. We were first, honey." All mortals do, as shortsighted as the animals they claim to be better than. "We are the first, and we shall be the last." Greed incarnate, a bleeding wound of golden ichor that shall never heal. "When the first man looked upon that which he so desired, through whose eye was he so desperately peering?"

Pluto, Dis Pater; names branded upon the frail hearts and minds of mortal men.

--

There's a pause. Then, the music stops.

She puts her cigar out. She checks the time. "Go on then, honey."

"We'll be in touch."

[Earl of Purple]

Drug Bust

Zee isn't mugged, but several people try to pick her pockets as she makes her rounds.

It seems they aren't swapping currency; they were swapping the explosives he brought with him for the drugs he was here to buy. The Followers had agreed they wanted all the bombs, and they were bickering over how much of the drug they should give in exchange. Given one is from a spacecraft destined to planets unknown, and the other is a gang in a lawless city with plenty of forgers, goods are probably more trustworthy and effective than currency. They've agreed on an amount, now, and more workers are tasked with moving some heavy sacks close to the tracked transport vehicle ready to load it once the current group have finished unloading the current cargo. In the meantime, the Follower has produced a hipflask, and has offered it to the cultist. The cultist tries it, and seems to like it, so the Follower is asking for a game of chequers and the winner gets a barrel of the stuff.

Shopping Trip

It's an actual mystic butterfly, as it happens. The gnorc doesn't have much useful information about the butterfly- apparently if you die, it brings you back to life at the last place you were zapped by a fairy. Have to eat the butterfly for it to work, though, and that requires catching it again.

The snapdragon might attract interest anyway, though these ones aren't mature. The largest is a woody dragon-like stem with a pair of large wing-like leaves growing from its back, ending in a flower that resembles a dragon head and has four leg-like twigs; like a dragon made of flower, except the tail is anchored in the ground as a stem. The flower-head is green, traces of bright yellows and reds starting to appear at the tips of the petals, but it's not mature enough to open and reveal the full colour- or puff fire at people nearby. Most of the others are much younger, resembling puffball fungi, except they also resemble eggs and they're all growing from a green, woody stalk.

Warehouse of Payne

The toad-like thing Payne vomited up interposes itself between the charging bear and its creator, rapidly swelling until Anika touches it- at which point it pops, spraying far more acidic goop in Anika's direction than should fit inside it. A ten-legged spidery thing is climbing out of Payne's throat at the moment, its extremely long legs ending in sharp chitinous points, and whilst not massive it takes up a lot of room; the small body is covered in fur, and the legs are easily a metre and a half long.

Statuette is shot with a sonic gun! She starts to crack and her bat explodes, but then she shifts so she's no longer made of aluminium and is a barefoot woman on a pile of rubble, wearing a labcoat and a plastic cat mask. The gas starts to take effect, but her legs are turning to concrete and the petrification is expanding quite quickly, too. As it reaches her lungs and she no longer needs to breathe, she starts to stride forward, aiming to punch Val as hard as she can. Felicity is racing to get in the way, however, holding her shock baton- which is likely useless against a concrete woman.

On the roof, a final blast of electricity is directed at the robot as the gas reaches Shocker and he falls under the effects.

[Morty]

[Olympian Extractions - Investigation (Factory Floor)]

Calm Reed, in her armor, does get more uncomfortable in this heat than she would readily admit. She makes no sign or mention of it, however. This is a larger industrial undertaking than she has ever seen.

"Why do the handrails give easily? It seems that having to watch out for them might slow things down," she says, keeping up the act of an efficiency inspector. Directly asking about the people who terrify him would produce the opposite of desired effect, besides.

[Hattish Thing]

[Olympian Extractions - Investigation (Factory Floor)]

Mr. Schmidt accepts Carlie's number, looking it over once or twice before shoving it into his pocket. "Ah, you're too kind, missy." There's a sad look on his face. Though he couldn't tell her, he certainly wasn't permitted to be communicating with the general public. "A real doll. You know, I reckon I just might send you a call." A blatant lie. He was in enough trouble as it was. No point in bringing the roof down on top of him.

He gulps before glancing towards Reed. "Uhh, well - I don't right know, ma'am." Something about moisture, maybe? Perhaps just shoddy craftsmanship? Its true, the factory was constantly falling apart, always under reconstruction. Accidents simply were a fact.

"Rest assured, everything runs on time here - look, there's a clock in station there."

--

He gestures towards it. Hopefully that was all the explanation he'd need to provide.

"So, ladies. Ready to meet the foreman?"

---

[Drug Bust]

Okay - quick tally. Bunch of barrels of stuff getting wheeled around, explosives being exchanged.

Now was the time.

--

Larza creeps down the radio tower quite quickly, slinking her way down the side of a nearby building. She stays low in the shadows until she's close enough.

Then, she'll peek from around a corner. Any unmanned barrels?

---

[Warehouse of Payne]

Woah, that was almost bad! Good, she's not dead - not yet, at least.

Then she walks up and takes a swing at him. Oh christ, that was a nasty swing. "Hey, come on lady - don't do this!" Her concrete fist will connect with an invisible barrier. Immediately, the kinetic energy generated by this encounter causes a wave of electrical energy to expel in her direction. This ought to toss her several meters back.

"Oh, god! Just, please stay down." He didn't want to hurt this person, not really.

--

He retrieves a detonator from his pocket. If he used this, well... she probably wouldn't survive.

"Don't... make me use this!"

[Rebonack]

[Drug Bust]

Anyone picking Zee's pockets will be deeply disappointed.

They're full of acorns.

Not even magical acorns.

Just normal, mundane, completely unremarkable tan oak acorns.

Super disappointing.

Well.

Unless they have a really bad acorn addiction and this will get them their fix. In which case, yay acorns!

Unsurprisingly, these are acorns Zee picked herself! They're part of her. And anyone wandering off with them will be pretty easy to keep tabs on. Or, say, start listening in on the information being fed to their brain meats. That won't be very helpful if they just toss them on the ground but HEY! More eyes and ears never hurts.


[Warehouse of Payne]

A spidery, slithering voice tickles at the good Professor Payne's ears.

This isn't the first time it has done this, whispering at him. Usually activating the containment crate's 'compliant behavioral encouragement' augments was enough to get it to shut up, but the button is on the professor's desk and he can't exactly reach it right now.

Hey. You're getting your floofing butts kicked. Let me out and I'll help. Or just lay on the ground like a slug. Maybe these idiots will let me out instead.

[Recaiden]

It's an actual mystic butterfly, as it happens. The gnorc doesn't have much useful information about the butterfly- apparently if you die, it brings you back to life at the last place you were zapped by a fairy. Have to eat the butterfly for it to work, though, and that requires catching it again.

The snapdragon might attract interest anyway, though these ones aren't mature. The largest is a woody dragon-like stem with a pair of large wing-like leaves growing from its back, ending in a flower that resembles a dragon head and has four leg-like twigs; like a dragon made of flower, except the tail is anchored in the ground as a stem. The flower-head is green, traces of bright yellows and reds starting to appear at the tips of the petals, but it's not mature enough to open and reveal the full colour- or puff fire at people nearby. Most of the others are much younger, resembling puffball fungi, except they also resemble eggs and they're all growing from a green, woody stalk.

Miri is pretty sure she hasn't been zapped by a fairy, so that's not so helpful.
The gems are really pretty...
But she needs practical things, so eventually she tears herself away from that stall.

And then comes back to buy just one.

Okay, no more frivolities!
On to the disguised man with books and scrolls.
Really she should have gone there first. Highest chance of being useful, given how much of what she's gotten back about herself is thanks to magic.

[Lord Magtok]

[Olympian Extractions - Foreman's Office]

She puts her cigar out. She checks the time. "Go on then, honey."

"We'll be in touch."

Magtok would say something about how he's heard all of that before from other people who thought they could keep up with the wheel, but this isn't really the sort of debate one can win. He just mutters something about agreeing to disagree, nods, and heads on out. Maybe he'll wait a couple of days before calling up VIGIL. You know, to make it less than completely obvious that he's a duplicitous snake prone to backstabbing anyone and everyone he can.

[5a Violista]

[Olympian Extractions - Investigation (Factory Floor)]

Ugh.
People lying like that is awful.
. . .
if someone isn't willing to do something themselves then there's very little you can do to help them.

Well, she agrees with Calm Reed. "Sometimes cutting safety corners can increase efficiency," she says, before hastily adding (in a tone of voice that suggests this is a formality that she has to say) "- which I obviously don't recommend - but after a certain point it starts to have the opposite effect."


She follows still.
"Yeah, let's meet the foreman."

[Shadowcaller]

[Drug Bust]

Minerva continues tensely waiting for action to happen. Perhaps she should use her melee weapon more? Would save her on ammunition...

She can probably be skipped until someone interacts with her or people start leaving the building.

[Warehouse of Payne]

That of course assumes Anika touches the ugly thing since this bear can jump and she's gonna use this power for good by attempting to leap over it.
But regardless if it explodes in her face or not, she's not going to stray from her path. Acid was bad but if it was on her fur, well... then the bear hug she had wanted to give Professor Payne would be acid, which would be his fault entirely!

Indeed, if she does manage to get close to either Payne or that monster he was busy chocking up, she's going to start to shake her coat like a dog and throw acid everywhere.

[Morty]

[Olympian Extractions - Investigation (Factory Floor)]

It appears that the factory's efficiency comes at the cost of disposable workers. Calm Reed is thoroughly unsurprised by it. There's probably only so much they can find out from this man, for now at least. Talking to others and finding out if they share his fears might reveal more.

"Yes, let's." The foreman is going to be harder to fool by their charade. But even if they're thrown out, they might learn much.

[Earl of Purple]

Warehouse of Payne

Professor Payne is paralysed and unable to move, lying on the floor. He can't obey the whispers in his mind, and nor can he press the button to discipline the captive cherub. He can direct the spider-thing that's finished crawling from his mouth to balance over him. It has four of its ten feet touching the ground, resting on sharp spikes. The other six legs are pointed forwards and up, to try and force Anika not to land on or crash into the paralysed superscientist. The legs are rigid and sharp, and if Anika tries to bowl it over so she can hug Payne as she wishes, she'll likely get impaled to some extent.

The toad-thing doesn't explode as Anika jumps over it, and instead starts lurching towards Felicity and Val.

Statuette recognises the detonator, and knows what it is. Whatever he's rigged to explode probably could kill her, and if it's his ship then his forcefield- the concrete woman was thrown back, but not harmed much by the electricity- will probably save him. So she stands up and moves back- though tries to stay between Val and the lab, and the invading scientist might notice that her feet are sinking into the concrete slightly. Not much, and it's hard to notice given she shares the floor's texture and colour, but it's rooting herself better so if she strikes again she can't get blasted backwards as easily. Felicity has moved up and hit her with the shock-baton Val gave her, but it's not very effective against concrete.

Drug Bust

Bales, more than barrels; the large sacks are squarer and more efficient for storage, though that makes them harder to move. The only barrel is the one offered to the winner of the game the cultist and the Follower are gambling on, and it's not a big barrel, more a steel keg. Currently it's being used as a table for the game they're playing- a dice game, it seems. Simple and easy to explain, and all it needs are three dice- a triangular four-sided die, a square six-sided one and a twelve-sided die. Larza could sneak down to the pile of sacks the workers are moving to take one, but the sacks require two of the workers to move, and if she opened one to steal out of it, it may get noticed. However, the wooden crates of explosives are nearby and also basically unguarded; the one guard nearby is more interested in making sure the workers don't get distracted or forget what they're doing.

If Minerva is acting like someone low on ammunition, the gunslinger reaches into her coat and pulls out a sickle magazine that should fit her bolter.

Most of the stolen acorns are tossed to the ground, but one particularly scruffy pickpocket assumes it's a nut and tries to eat one. Why else would it be in her pocket, if it's not a snack for later?

Shopping Trip

"Thee seek knowledge? Thou art wise. Not many upon this benighted den of debauchery value that which I offer. They should. I have books on magic, alchemy, artificery, and religion. What knowledge dost thou seek, fair stranger?" The man bows deep and low, eyes glinting silver behind aviator sunglasses. "Or art thou more an artiste, seeking a medium upon which to work? I sell that as well, but thee dost not seem such a frivolous person. Dost thou wish for venoms most foul, or mastery of fire and smoke? The secrets of the earth and metal, or the names of the wind and all that rely upon it? Diabolism, or binding?" The man with the fortified mind gestures at various tomes as he speaks.

Arron has bought a new wardrobe, a deep burgundy cape over his prior robe, with underneath that a new pair of jeans and a yellow-and-pink polka dot shirt.

[Hattish Thing]

[Olympian Extractions - Factory Floor]

Mr. Schmidt responds to Carlie's observation with an apologetic frown. "M'afraid I've no opinion on the matter, ma'am." A lie, and an obvious one. He was simply too afraid of speaking out against his boss. With wringed hands, he leads the two women down the catwalk and towards yet another door which leads into a chamber which protrudes over the factory floor. One side of the chamber is fitted with enormous, grimy windows through which an individual could peer over the workers below. Mr. Schmidt will knock twice at the iron door before stepping away and coughing. "The, err - inspectors are 'ere, foreman-miss!" The door opens from the inside with a hiss, revealing a sparsely decorated office whose tin walls and wrought-iron floor seem most uninviting.

The warm air is miserably still within this office. Regrettably, the lone fan which gently spins overhead fails to generate much of a gust at all. Metal bookshelves line the walls of the chamber, as does a cabinet filled with unlabeled bottles of (presumably) alcohol. A cheap oriental rug serves as the room's centerpiece, and its southernmost wall is dominated by a massive chalkboard upon which dozens of tally marks and numbers have been messily scrawled. A stained wooden desk rests in one corner of the room, behind which a large woman reclines. She's quite tall, with broad-shoulders and muscular arms.

Although her face is scarred and smeared with soot, her clothes are of good quality and consist of a white dress shirt, a matching pin-striped vest, a scarlet tie, and a pair of brown trousers. She runs a large hand through her short, curly white hair before gesturing dismissively towards the door and barking an order in that direction. "Uh-huh. Send 'em in, honey."

Spoiler: Foreman

Show

---

[Warehouse of Payne]

Dr. Valiance keeps his thumb on the trigger, waving it around wildly.
"Don't test me, lady! I'll press the damn thing! I'm friggin' nuts!"

He continues to wave it about menacingly. Then he notes how cautious she was being. Did she think this was a bomb?
Psh, this was so much more than a bomb. This was some funky stuff - some real out there type tech.

He wasn't even sure if it really worked, that's how weird it was!

--

Then, Val notices the horrible toad monster. He glances away from Statuette and instead takes this time to brush his thumb across a dial at the side of his sonic pistol.
"Oh, christ - what the actual hell!" He grimaces! It was awful!

The trigger is pulled. A cone of sound is projected forward. This time, it was set to full power.
It might cause the toad to implode entirely, and gruesomely so.

---

[Drug Bust]

Hm, the sacks were too far away. Too out in the open, it wasn't worth the risk. At least, not yet.
But circumstances could change - in fact, they will. Larza is sure of it.

She flashes a toothy grin to the others before scurrying back up the wall.

--

Once she's perched upon the nearby radio tower once again, she retrieves her wrist-crossbow.
Then, a small jar of oil. And a match.

She'll light the miniature bolt ablaze before aiming the crossbow and firing it.

[Shadowcaller]

[Warehouse of Payne]

Wait, the ugly froggy didn't follow her?!
Darn it!
Well, if she defeated the boss the adds would all flee, right? Thus she should just continue towards him.
Looks like yet another minion was in her way however. Perhaps with this one she'd try something else.
She continues charging straight at it, but just before she impales herself on its pointy legs she lets out a loud roar which carries a magical effect.

To anything in her immediate vicinity the sound is exponentially louder to degree it will deafen those nearby and temporary stun them (depending on their form of hearing of course). It only lasts a few seconds but that should be enough for the creature to break it's formation and let her sweep it to the side without getting hurt too badly by its legs before she could get to the scientist himself.

Drug Bust

She will gratefully accept the ammunition offered by the gunslinger.
She had worked with heretics (or perhaps a heathen in this case) before so she had learned to not dismiss gifts even from them. She had already accepted Zee's help so refusing others at this point would be pretty pointless.

[Recaiden]

"Thee seek knowledge? Thou art wise. Not many upon this benighted den of debauchery value that which I offer. They should. I have books on magic, alchemy, artificery, and religion. What knowledge dost thou seek, fair stranger?" The man bows deep and low, eyes glinting silver behind aviator sunglasses. "Or art thou more an artiste, seeking a medium upon which to work? I sell that as well, but thee dost not seem such a frivolous person. Dost thou wish for venoms most foul, or mastery of fire and smoke? The secrets of the earth and metal, or the names of the wind and all that rely upon it? Diabolism, or binding?" The man with the fortified mind gestures at various tomes as he speaks.

Arron has bought a new wardrobe, a deep burgundy cape over his prior robe, with underneath that a new pair of jeans and a yellow-and-pink polka dot shirt.

It's a good thing that outrageously colored shirt is hidden beneath the robe. Although he's not at this stand to comment on, either.

"I'm looking for knowledge on the mind. Magic enchantments, perhaps."
Although Miri is obviously tempted by the names of the wind as well. "Or perhaps the wind and water?"

[Earl of Purple]

Warehouse of Payne

The toad doesn't implode from the sound. It's a motile sack of volatile chemicals full almost to bursting. It explodes, instead, spraying acid everywhere and dying. It's pretty effective acid, and eats into concrete, flesh, and many other things.

Felicity hits Statuette with her shockbaton again, to no effect. Statuette punches Felicity and Val's assistant falls over with a crunch. She might have broken her collarbone, judging by where she was punched- and the fact that whilst she's not exactly superhuman strong, Statuette is currently as hard as concrete. Felicity gets back up, though.

The spider-thing is knocked back by the roar, and swept aside. Payne's mouth is distended again and something else is emerging, however, and the spider-thing recovers quickly and slashes at Anika with its very sharp legs. The thing emerging from Payne is presently an arm, long, spindly and ending in a six-fingered hand, with dark red skin and thick fur. Payne's not looking as though he's enjoying this, because quite frankly he isn't. The arm is seeking purchase on something so it can haul the rest of itself out.

Drug Bust

Meanwhile, there's a fire. Larza has enough time to brace herself before the explosion. The heat from the burning bolt setting the wooden crate's lid on fire cooks the grenades, especially as the tip of the bolt has knocked a cheap grenade's pin. It's a big explosion, the wall blasting out in a rain of bricks and concrete. The Followers panic and dive for cover, though the closest guard has died and some of the workers are injured. The surviving guards have no idea where the explosion came from and are assuming it was outside the warehouse, not inside, and are shooting their assault rifles and submachine guns at the rooftops and at any large groups of people that might be hiding a mortar or RPG.

Minerva should find that the bolter shells have been properly blessed and consecrated, though not necessarily to the standards of a Sororitas, they have been blessed for use by a loyal human in service of the God-Emperor- possibly an Astra Militarum sergeant or officer, someone who access to a human-scale boltgun. The gunslinger, meanwhile, leans over the top of the wall she's ducked behind and fires her own crossbow pistol, taking a Follower in the side of the head and knocking him down. She ducks back and puts the hand-crossbow back inside her coat, pulling out instead a heavy, blocky pistol. It has a rather short barrel and a magazine forward of the grip.

Shopping Trip

"I know nothing of water, fair lady, for there is nothing to know of water. It is false and treacherous, and not to be trusted. Air, or the mind... Yes, I have tomes for you. This one is about the mind, and this one about the air. I will sell you one, or both. I would sell them to you, for a secret. One per book. A dangerous secret, to you or others. Or one that is big. A secret that is juicy and obscure, or one that is personal and dear to your heart. A secret, in short, of value." The bookseller really doesn't like the idea of water, it seems. The mind-tome is bound in human skin, two faces stitched together side-by-side on the front cover, eyes and other facial apertures stitched shut. The air-tome is bound with blue glass, fused with white to resemble the sky.

[Rebonack]

[Drug Bust]

Oh yuck.

Eating a raw acorn is NOT fun. They're astringent and really bitter. They have to be prepped before they can be eaten. Usually ground up and washed to remove the tannins. Just biting into one is awful and the pick-pocket will probably regret doing so really quickly.

Zee, meanwhile, watches and waits.

It sure sounds like there are going to be some explosions in the near future.

Everyone likes explosions, right?

Okay well not everyone.

Honestly most folks are extremely adverse to explosions. Except when they're up in the sky to look pretty. Explosions most anywhere else are very dangerous.

Okay.

Yep!

There they are. Good ol' explosions.

Zee draws both of her batons and sticks 'em end to end, woody growth and starlight creeping across the both of them until it looks like she's holding a living wooden rifle of quite frankly alien make. She moves to try to get a shot lined up on their bald friend. He's the reason they're here, after all. Honestly she's a bit surprised by all the explosion stuff. Wasn't the goblin adverse to killing? Maybe it's just the up close and personal stuff that bugs her.

Ah well!

Where's that bald head Zee's looking to pop...

[Warehouse of Payne]

Blegh.

The doc is down for the count, isn't he?

Maybe someone else?

Hey, Statuette right? Hey let me out. I can help you; these guys are going to kick your butts otherwise.

That same voice tickles at the edge of her mind. It's bugged her before. No doubt there were standing instructions to inform the Prof so he could discipline it for making trouble. But right now the good professor is in no condition to do such a thing, is he? There's a pretty good chance that she knows that, under no circumstances, is the cherub to be released.

But these circumstances are pretty extraordinary, aren't they?

[Recaiden]

"I know nothing of water, fair lady, for there is nothing to know of water. It is false and treacherous, and not to be trusted. Air, or the mind... Yes, I have tomes for you. This one is about the mind, and this one about the air. I will sell you one, or both. I would sell them to you, for a secret. One per book. A dangerous secret, to you or others. Or one that is big. A secret that is juicy and obscure, or one that is personal and dear to your heart. A secret, in short, of value." The bookseller really doesn't like the idea of water, it seems. The mind-tome is bound in human skin, two faces stitched together side-by-side on the front cover, eyes and other facial apertures stitched shut. The air-tome is bound with blue glass, fused with white to resemble the sky.

If you don't trust water, you probably aren't too trustworthy yourself. Water is above questions!
But you may still have valuable magical books.

Now, the worst secrets in Miri's life are secret even to Miri. But she can still say "In my second right pocket, I have a jar of poison to kill the man who took me in." That should be good for a mind book, right? She shivers to say it. Speaking aloud makes things more real, doesn't it? But Benedict is a monster, and they won;t be able to get along together for long, Miri is thinking. It's not like he would hesitate to sacrifice his 'guests'.
She considers, is there a second secret she has on hand?

[5a Violista]

[Olympian Extractions - Factory Floor]

Carlie goes down the catwalk, and while waiting for the door, looks out the grimy window.

She goes through the door.

She steps forward. "Carlie Hopps," she says, introducing herself. "So you're the one in charge of this factory?" she asks. "It's nice to meet you."

[Morty]

[Olympian Extractions - Factory Floor]

The forewoman does look like someone who commands respect and authority, Calm Reed has to admit. Shame it has to be in a place like this.

"I am Calm Reed," the monk introduces herself. "We are both pleased to be here." Not terribly accurate, but it will do for now.

[Hattish Thing]

[Olympian Extractions - Factory Floor]

The woman behind the desk purses her lips for an uncomfortable moment or so, her coal black eyes boring into Reed's own. "Are you now?" There's a chuckle, there. It is a wet, squelchy thing - sounds like death. "Why don't you come have a seat, honey." A toothy smirk forms upon her soot-smeared face before swiftly fading away. From her seat, she gestures for Carle to come closer as well. "You just tell me if you start to feel lightheaded, doll." Her tone is somewhat softer towards Carlie, but only just. It seems her concern for the pregnant woman was fleeting, however - she immediately lights a cigar.

"Now, I need you two to get on the level with me." She makes an uncomfortable sound with her mouth, as if sucking a lemon that isn't there, before continuing. "What're you here for?"

"And don't lie to me." It seems to be getting warmer within the office.

---

[Drug Bust]

Once the box of grenades goes off, Larza yelps and hisses. She wasn't expecting that much of a boom!
Still, at least it didn't look too bad from up here.

Certainly her new friends would be wading in at this point.

---

[Warehouse of Payne]

"Oh, christ - get away, get away!" That was a whole lot of acid, an overwhelming surplus in fact! It was getting absolutely everywhere, too! Fortunately, he'd managed to avoid most of it simply by firing at range. Still, a great big globule of indescribably vile gunk splatters all over his wool coat, melting through the material. "Aaaaaaaahh! Felicity, help me! It's on me, oh god! I can't get it off!" Then, Felicity is struck fairly hard.

Things were looking poorly, time to make things worse. "Alright, lady - I told you to stop, and you didn't! So, uhhh - I'm putting my foot down!" He presses the detonator several times before chucking it at Statuette's feet.

The second it clatters onto the ground, everything within fifteen feet (including concrete) will be teleported back to a previously selected point.

In this case, thousands of miles above the ground.

[Shadowcaller]

[Drug Bust]

Minerva got the impression the little green xeno was supposed to scout not cause an explosion. Assuming of course it was them who caused it in the first place.
But she had learned long ago that no plan survives contact with the enemy and she didn't exactly mind this diversion. Furthermore, how in the emperor's name had they blessed these bullets on this faith forsaken world? She would have questions for them later on.

She still had no reason to start shooting at the guards though as she expected her target to be fleeing in this chaos. If they wanted to start shooting random bypassers they could be free to. Considering this is skyside, some of those people might even return the fire.

So like Zee she's planning to wait and keep an eye out for any bald people to open fire on and will advise the other two to do the same.

[Warehouse of Payne]

Oh come on.

How many creeps was this guy going to spit out?!

Well, whatever. She was finishing this right now!

When the spider attacks her it will find that her fur is as stronger than iron and that it will have a significantly more difficult time harming her than a normal bear.
But furthermore, Anika is still moving so it will have to reach her before it can start attacking.
Specifically, she's jumping again, this time intending to land right at the poor Payne.
Hopefully a giant bear landing on him won't kill him outright.

[5a Violista]

[Olympian Extractions - Factory Floor]

That is the most disgusting-sounding laugh Carlie has ever heard.

Carlie does, in fact, come closer, and sits. "Thank-you," Carlie says, keeping her tone pleasant in stark contrast with that woman's. She takes a moment to get comfortable, to show that, yes, everything's fine, and no, there's no need to start the conflict that that woman is obviously itching for.

Want to know something Carlie's pretty good at? Not lying. She has a lot of experience juggling dozens of identities without making any of them lies. All of them are, of course, true. "As I'm sure you've already heard, we were hired after hearing about some safety concerns." They weren't hired by Olympian Extractions, of course - that should be obvious to the boss, because presumably she would have heard of it before now. But they were still hired for the same reason. "The wrong people vanished, without their families hearing of why, and so they brought it up."

Then, being helpful, Carlie brings up something that the foreman they met was too afraid to say: "By the way, those catwalk railings, as an example? If you make them more secure, not only will the workers traveling on them be more efficient, but your company will have to spend less time explaining why somebody stopped coming home." Win-win for everyone. With the implication that a fair explanation would be the easiest way to get rid of these two.

[Morty]

[Olympian Extractions - Factory Floor]

Calm Reed holds the forewoman's gaze without flinching or moving closer. She's stared down heretics, Dynasts, recalcitrant gods and Anathema loyalists before. She won't back down here.

"It seems to be the case of cost-cutting proving inefficient in the long run," she says calmly. "Though of course we do not know if the missing people did fall victim to them."