Skyside 6: Return of the Cheddar

[Rebonack]

[SPAAAAACE!]

Lobotomized cyborgs?

Ugh.

Nice reminder of how terrible the 40k universe is.

Regardless of the GRIMDARKNESS Zee is going to briefly examine the servitor.

Machine bits are fine.

Organic bits are MAYBE fine but the poor person still died anyway? Why? There must be SOME trace of whatever killed them. If the gene stealers have some kind of psychic or microbial threat floating around it would probably be a good idea to do something about it.

The chapel is an interesting sight, too, aside of course for more ammo for Minerva. "It looks like a battle happened her a long time before whatever happened to the rest of the crew," Zee observes. Ostensibly the cause of death here is easier to figure out. Claws in the brain and bolt rounds to the... wherever the mutant got shot.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

The renovations have proceeded apace, and the manor looks much nicer than it did on Sapphira's last visit. All the rooms are at least hospitable now, the windows re-glazed, walls painted and the floors carpeted. They aren't all furnished yet, however. Bluefoot seems to have set up an obstacle course in some of the rooms, which is unusual. Sized for halflings, too.

It's the late afternoon, very nearly evening, and the mistress of the house has just had supper and is retiring early to make an early start. The helfling is wearing a short and nearly sheer nightdress, which is more than can be said for the halfling currently brushing her mistress' hair, whose olive-brown skin is wholly on display. "Oh! Sapphira, milady." She drops into a curtsy and waves away her maid, who is quite eager to go. "Of course, mistress. How can I- and my girls; I've been training them- serve you?" Bluefoot doesn't consider them ready yet, not really, but Applesniffer's nearly there.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

"Here." Sapphira produces a scroll and hands it over. "Three days from now, starting exactly at noon, I want you to perform this ritual. Understood?"

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

Bluefoot takes the scroll and opens it, looking it over and reading what the ritual requires. "I can do this, mistress." She might regret how easily she's agreed, however. Depends on how tricky the ritual actually is, and what it requires.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

The scroll details a ritual. It's complex, starting with the drawing of a magic circle in chalk and powdered silver, and contains several incantations which must be spoken at precise intervals. There must be four participants, three to perform the ritual and one whose life will be sacrificed to fuel it. And several exotic ingredients are needed, most notably five black candles with wicks of humanoid hair, a serpent's tear, an iron dagger which has never been touched by sunlight, and the skull of a fallen saint. There's also one thing missing. The instructions make repeated mentions of a name, but no name is given.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

"I have the life. That's easy. I know of someone who could be described as a 'fallen saint'. An aasimar who worships a demon, she bought a girl I had my eye on recently. Bunnygiggle has made candles before, so I can have her make those. The tear and the dagger look trickier, but I have some ideas. There's a cave where some dwarf-people go to trade, they can't breathe surface air. I find something they want, I'll be able to get an iron dagger, I think. The chanting will be an issue. All my girls are mute, and my guards are mercenaries and not inherently trustworthy. What's the name? It's included in the chant, but the name doesn't appear anywhere." Bluefoot has only few ideas for the serpent's tear, however. A medusa or dragon tear, perhaps? Do they even cry? Most snakes don't, which would make that tricky. How would she find a dragon or medusa to make them cry, anyway?

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

"Write this down. I'm only going to say it once. Do not speak it aloud until the ritual. Doing so will attract unwanted attention." Sapphira waits for Bluefoot to get writing tools. "The name is 'Sakiril-Ess, Toktr Etsa Korrel, Kodira Myn-Erl, Nolvilik Kendek, Resyr Lotaka, Okaril-Ess, Keyra Dogetal.'"

...

Somewhere far away, a fiendling looks around herself in surprise. "Huh? Did someone call for me?"

...

"I can send loyal followers to aid in the ritual if you require. The other ingredients, you must obtain yourself. It sounds like you already have some idea what to do."

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

Bluefoot nods and runs to a drawer, taking out a pen and a diary, writing down the name she's told, before offering it to Sapphira. "I wish to serve, and the best way is to ensure I have the name down correctly. Since I cannot say it, could you read it and confirm?" There's no mistakes, but it's always a good idea to double-check. "I would appreciate the assistants, milady. I shall have some guest quarters prepared for them. Not the ones you've seen before, proper guest quarters." And probably try to dismantle or block off some of the training areas Bluefoot's set up, in an effort to train her maids as assassins and thieves. She doesn't want that particular secret spreading too far, and though she'll offer them to Sapphira- and has, in fact- when they're ready, they aren't yet and she isn't sure she should trust anyone who also wants Sapphira's favour.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

"This appears to be correct. Very good. The others will arrive the morning of the ritual. Do not disappoint me. Anything else?" Sapphira looks pointedly at Bluefoot.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

"Um." Bluefoot looks down and blushes. There is something she wants, but she doesn't want to ask. She's too intimidated by the devil queen. "...No, I don't think so." Maybe after the ritual, if it works, Bluefoot will feel confident and useful enough to ask Sapphira for a night. Or maybe she won't.

Something does occur, however. "I'm training my girls in infiltration. Most of them are good already, but not good enough. They were caught thieving, mostly. So was I, but... I'm training them anyway. Teaching them how to bypass the more common wards and defences used by my neighbours. If you need a spy, or a thief, they aren't ready yet. Silkyfinger's the best at it, but I'm not going to send any out against the nobles. Some of the gangs, they tend to have less advanced defences, relying more on people than devices, and those are my current target. I'll have the girls steal things and plant other stuff, maybe try to force out some of the petty landlords so I can buy them out and expand." Bluefoot's been buying some of the apartments, tenements and hotels in the poorer areas of Skyside and making money from their rent and selling things to her residents.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

"Very well. I take my leave." A portal appears. Sapphira pauses on the threshold. "A final word of warning. When the ritual is finished, do not listen to anything the devil it calls says. She is a liar and a manipulator who will do anything to escape." With that, Sapphira vanishes.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

Once Sapphira has left, Bluefoot leaves her bedroom to a study, writing up some plans and schemes. She needs to find Azurelle, and kill her for her skull. Make contact with the Diggers in Outside, give them something they want- they've attacked settlements to take the children before; nobody really knows why, but that might be a clue, and get from them an iron dagger, one which has never been touched by sunlight. She also needs to buy some black wax and have Bunnygiggle make some candles with it, using hair. Applesniffer's hair is long and fine; that should do it. Make six, so there's a spare. Once she's got her plans down, she returns to bed, taking Applesniffer with her.

[UncleWolf]

Jinn's Workshop
Alexia/Ilfauxlin takes a deep breath before letting it out. "Can't claim there's a better offer I guess." She closes her eyes, cinching them shut and awaits the inevitable teleportation in the hopes that it wasn't the potentially painful sort she'd heard about that tears you apart and pieces you back together.

Manor Lab

"Agreed then, but first things first. Kneel next to the body and close your eyes. Relax and I will start the transfer in a moment." Norael insists, pulling on gloves just to be as sanitary as could be. Before she gets to Anri herself, she goes to the crafted body and places her hands upon its abdomen and chest. Tellysandra gets a good view of her hands glowing gently, dangerously, but the radiation doesn't tick up beyond normal levels. The angel closes her own eyes, visualizing what she wanted done, her handiwork inside the body, and the foreign objects she implanted in there herself. Slowly, gently, and with low muttering, Norael pulls her hands away from the body and several little plates in them. They're placed aside and Norael murmurs once again. "Mending." She commands. The unseen wounds caused by the removal stitch together once more and Norael finally deems the body ready. She reaches out, activating a metronome as she places one hand upon Anri's head and one upon the new body's chest. "I want you to listen to the sound of my voice, Anri." She says as she carefully times her words to the steady click-clack. "Listen to my voice and relax your body as you concentrate on what I say. Breathe long and slow and let the metronome carry you away from this room. " A measure of warmth comes to Norael's hands as she starts weaving a bit of magic between them.

C L I C K
C L A C K
C L I C K

C L A C K


C L I C K



C L A C K

Several agonizingly long metronome ticks later, she finally speaks again, though this time it seems to be coming from directly within Anri's mind. You find yourself in darkness. Comforting. Warm. A familiar haze of static and background noise. She intones, the sound of the metronome fading and slowing, changing less from clicks and more to a lulling pressure. Let it take you, enshroud you, wrap around and hug you and your sense of self. Hug it tight, like a blanket or a lover. Despite her usually somewhat candid attitude, she sounds entirely serious about hugging onto it like a lover. She made it sound important, which is probably good advice if she's not cracking jokes.

C L I C K




C L A C K

A soft blue light, streaked with orange, rises in the depths below Anri as the distant touch grows warmer and Norael channels more power, securing the pathways. Outside the mindscape, there's a noticeable uptick of rads, but still within acceptable levels. The light grows tendrils, reaching up for Anri and she'll feel there's a current, tugging her gently down into the light even before the light itself touches her.. Keep that comfort around you and let yourself be carried, hurled into the connection. A bundle of consciousness and thought and heart all carried along a winding cable. Think of everything that makes you who you are, who you were, and who you may some day become. Hold it close, cherish it, and believe. Unlike a river, the light is gentle, carrying and lifting with strength instead of thrashing with wild abandon. It would be all too easy to let it sweep you away entirely if not for Norael's warning.


C L I C K

Externally, Norael opens her eyes, though there's a noticeable lack of pupils as she's envisioning the transference in action. With everything in action, no was the moment to vocalize the spell. A thin bloody gash rips itself open where she'd have lips, and her mouth momentarily opens into a void of blackness as she speaks, pouring a large amount of her considerable magical reserves into the invocation. "Soul Transference." Such magic has its cost beyond just power of course, and gashes rip open along her arms to bleed. The blood that runs along her skin hisses and pops as it is Taken, and Norael pales several shades, but she doesn't let the pain distract her from her work.

C L A C K

The final tick of the metronome hits like a hammer and Anri will find herself in her new body, likely gasping for breath and feeling a single moment of burning agony as she senses the new nerves and meat enveloping her. The pain fades almost immediately, though dizziness and clumsiness will need far longer to pass. Norael keeps her hands on both bodies, just in case she has to perform some sort of emergency halt or reversal, but she's shivering a bit from the exertion and blood loss.

[Deathkeeper]

Manor Lab

Anri decides not to comment on the fact that she can't actually breathe since Nora seems to have actually gotten serious. She plants herself next to the body. It's hard to say if she's relaxed. Posture is a curious thing for a robotic body.
But she does focus. Focusing is something she's quite good at. Just waiting. Imagining breathing. At the very least this body does have eyelids. So she obeys the closed-eyes part of the instructions easily.
Click clack. In and out. Metaphorically. Her ceramic lips click, mouthing something no one in the room knows or would likely recognize.
Click clack. Click clack.
Click.
Clack.
Anri's spirit furls and is pulled along easily. Her will and desires push the transfer home more than she would ever expect.
She awakens to darkness; light as her eyes flutter open. The room is spinning. She gasps as her lungs engage and her biological systems connect to her mind. She can barely process it all, but the first sound she hears is her own laughter. She can't even sit up from the nausea but her arms hug around herself as she laughs giddily at the simple joy of breathing and laughing and having a diaphragm at all.
At least until her vision clears enough to lay eyes on Nora.
"Oh, heavens. Quick, do we need a doctor for our doctor?" she asks, genuine concern in her voice.

[Shadowcaller]

[SPAAAAACE!]

After consluting my local WH40k expert it seems like sisters of battle don't actually have in-built dataslates in their helmets. Only space marine armour have that. Thus Minerva will instead request to be handed a dataslate from someone so she too can see the map.
As they reach the chapel and Minerva gets a better look at it, she starts reciting a prayer for the priests soul. She hadn't expected to find any loyalists, alive or dead, onboard so it felt like something she had to do. They were all going to die one day so the best way to go was to die for the greatest cause, for the Emperor of Mankind.

It's a quick prayer, they couldn't waste much time, and once she's done she turns to Zee. "Any living xenos inside?" She inquires while gesturing at the chapel. "The relics inside could be valuable but we can't waste much time aquiring them." In case it was some kind of ambush.

[Earl of Purple]

SPAAAAAAAACE!

Organic bits are not fine. There's nothing wrong that the servitor's own diagnostics can identify, but they are not fine; they're dead, of suffocation. There's traces of an artificial chemical in the lungs and blood of the servitor, binding with the red blood cells instead of oxygen. It died because it suffocated, all the while the servitor's diagnostic auspex were telling it there was plenty of breathable air and nothing to suffocate on. The chemical isn't in the air around them any more, and there's not much in the servitor- or any of the other bodies Zee might get the chance to study. It's not a Tyranid bioweapon, either; the chemical has been engineered in a lab, but it's not a protein that's easily replicable by an organic laboratory.

The tech-priest hands Minerva her data-slate; she's got one integrated with her brain, so she doesn't need it. The autorifle-wielding mutant has a massive wound in his shoulder and upper chest; the bolt shell didn't hit anything lethal... until it exploded. The lady was killed by a shot to the head, her face mostly gone as a result of the round that killed her. The Gunslinger takes the dead lady's pistol, tucking it under her jacket, whilst one of the Gunners takes the rifle and checks it over before rifling through the corpse's pockets for spare rounds. It's tossed to the Gunner's newest recruit, swapping out her double-barrelled shotgun for the rifle. A packet of lho sticks and a curved knife are also liberated from the dead mutant.

There's a nest of silverfish in the back of the chapel, where the priest kept his robes; other than that, nothing is alive in the chapel. "What relics here interest you, Sister? I did not think the vessel had anything especially notable amongst its Ecclesiastical relics."

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

It's late evening, and there's a knock at the back door of Shivernight Manor. A small group of people in hooded robes are carrying a very large bag between them. It's big enough to take six of them to hold it up. They seem wary, trying not to be noticed by anyone else.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

The door is opened, by a rather nervous-looking halfling girl wearing a yellow strip of cloth with a hole in it for her head who looks at them, nods once and opens the door far wider before ringing a bell.

Shortly after the bell is rung, two more halflings arrive, one wearing dark grey overalls and carrying a knife, the other wearing a red dressing-gown. With the dressing-gown clad halfling is Lady Shivernight herself, the helfling wearing a white satin night-dress. "Do you have something to show me, or am I throwing you all back out again? What do you have there?" Bluefoot initially means the identifying coin that all Sapphira's cultists carry, and she's got hers in the pocket of the dressing gown. The dark grey-clad halfling is staying in the darker areas, knife held up and ready to be thrown.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

One of the iron coins is produced and handed over for Bluefoot to inspect. It's identical to the one she has in nearly every way. "You got a 'special' room available? This one's dangerous. Killed five of us before we knocked her out. But she'll be valuable to the mistress." One of the cultists produces a smaller cloth bundle and passes it over. Inside are a pair of curved silver swords inscribed with glyphs and glowing faintly, and their black leather sheaths. "Her weapons."

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

Bluefoot, after inspecting the coin, hands it back. Far more convenient than a hidden tattoo, and potentially less damning, too. "Yes, I do. I hope it's large enough. Follow me. And I'll show your leader the entrance to the escape tunnel, so next time you aren't on the street for so long." One of the escape tunnels. There's several- that Bluefoot knows about, at least. She's a little concerned that there's others she doesn't know about yet, however.

Bluefoot and her halfling companion- it might be noted the halfling is only wearing her dressing-gown- will lead the way, heading to the basement and the dungeon beyond the torture chamber. Sylvester wakes up and peers from his own cell when he hears the cultists arrive. Bluefoot and her companion are very light-footed, and make no sound as they move. Neither does the halfling in dark grey, who is following behind the cultists just in case.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

The cultists open the bag and dump its contents unceremoniously into an empty cell. Spilling out of the container is an unconscious woman. She's wearing a simple tunic and a porcelain mask, featureless except two dark eye holes. More notably, instead of legs, she has a long serpentine tail from the waist down, its scales a greenish brown color.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

There's only two cells, neither particularly large. Sylvester can't see who spills out of the bag from his cell, but he's curious in who they are.

Bluefoot's eyes widen at the sight of the snake-lady, and she licks her lips slightly. "Oh, my. She killed five of you, yes? How? Did she use magic or just the swords? What do you know of her? The more you can tell me the less chance she'll break loose. If she manages that, and kills me, she'll go back after you." She hopes Sapphira doesn't expect Bluefoot to get any information from the snake-lady; whilst Bluefoot is curious about what lies under the mask and tunic, her torture chamber isn't built for anyone with her build. She could keep them bound at wrist, waist and neck, but that tail is long and powerful and nothing here would fit. "Bunny, go get a bottle from my nightstand. A wax stopper, please. And... get the girls to bring down all the weights from the gym. Oh! And fetch a tape measure, too. The east turret is still being renovated, there should be one there." If Bluefoot measures the snake-lady, she can work on getting some larger restraints fitted. At the moment, all the torture equipment is sized for humans or halflings. Not that Bluefoot's used any of the latter; it's more threat than practice, at least at the moment. The dressing-gown clad halfling nods and turns to leave, though she'll be a while as she will also grab a human-sized t-shirt.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

"She used her swords and her tail. She's slippery, make sure you've got her well bound." Even with the serpent unconscious, the cultists give her a wide berth. They saw what happened to their fellows, and don't want it to happen to them. "She claimed to be an inquisitor, but she doesn't seem the type." The snake tail suddenly twitches, causing all the cultists to jump back in fear.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

"How did you knock her out? And how did she find you?" The helfling doesn't step back as the tail twitches, but forward. She'll snap her fingers and the dark-clad halfling- who might not have been noticed yet- throws her a knife, with which she'll cut off the snake-lady's tunic, and she'll try removing the mask at the same time. Then, if she can or can't immediately do so, she'll step back with tunic and/or mask in hand, before shutting the door. It locks automatically, and has no handle, lock or hinges on the inside. Ophelia will have to break it down to escape, which may prove tricky- this is the door to the cell that Sapphira renovated. "I might have to wait for the measurements to get new restraints in, if she's waking up."

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

"Club to the back of the head. And no idea. Burst into one of our safe houses shouting about murdering infidels." The serpent tail twitches again.

The tunic is cut off, leaving the serpent lady bare, but when Bluefoot attempts to pull the mask off, she finds she can't. It's stuck to the lady's face. And despite its porcelain appearance, it feels different, like cold reptilian flesh.

The tail twitches again, and Bluefoot gets out just in time before the serpent awakens fully. "Ssssssss... Ugh."

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

Then Bluefoot doesn't try pulling it off if the mask doesn't come off immediately. "The mask feels like part of her face. She's naked now, that makes people feel more vulnerable. Should work on her, too." It depends on if Ophelia wears clothes because people expect her to, or because she was raised with a nudity taboo. "Unfortunately, she's taller than I am. I'd have to get Bunny to stand on my shoulders with a club to try it myself." Bluefoot wouldn't stand on Bunny's shoulders because Bluefoot's taller by quite a bit. As she talks, Bluefoot looks for pockets on the tunic, to see if she was carrying anything the cultists had missed.

Speaking of Bunnygiggle, she arrives, wearing a plain red human-sized t-shirt as a dress and a pair of slippers, carrying one end of a heavy-looking duffle bag. The other end is held by a sleepy-looking halfling girl wearing a pink leather collar and children's pyjamas, who wakes up quickly to look around at the cultists. "Hand me the bottle, and the measuring tape. Then put the bag in front of the door." The bag is placed first, pushed close against the cell door, and Bluefoot gestures. The pyjama-clad halfling crouches in front of the door and Bluefoot steps on her back, looking through the bars at her captive. It just about works. "Hello, prisoner. Who are you?" When Ophelia starts to respond, Bluefoot holds up the bottle and seals it with wax, magically trapping the snake-woman's voice. If she doesn't respond, she keeps her voice.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

"I am yo..." Ophelia hisses angrily until her voice abruptly cuts off. When she's suddenly struck mute she just stops and coils up. She doesn't seem distressed at all. She slowly slithers up to the door and presses gently against it with both hands, testing its sturdiness. She looks around at the cell's furnishings. She seems to be thinking over her situation.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

The door should be very sturdy. Ophelia's bigger than who it was designed for, so she might be stronger, but people trying to escape was factored into the design. The furnishings consist of a bunk built into the wall, and a drain in the middle of the floor. There's nothing else. Also no bedding, either; the bunk is bare, just a concrete shelf sticking out of the wall. "Your voice is in this bottle. I'm the only one who can open it and get your voice out. If you kill me, or the bottle breaks, you'll never speak again. Nod if you understand." The wax sealed bottles aren't as soundproof as the ones with glass stoppers, so if Ophelia screams or shouts loud enough, anyone near the bottle will be able to hear her. "I could also put your sense of smell or taste in one of these, and leave it in my cess pit. That would doubtless be unpleasant for you. If you misbehave, I'll do it." Bunnygiggle, who can't be seen by Ophelia, shudders at that threat. She knows how unpleasant it is first hand.

Bluefoot hopes the cultists have been able to get word out to Sapphira about this. She doesn't want Ophelia staying here for too long. Also, depending on how possession works, the voice sealed in the bottle is specifically the voice of the person who was speaking when Bluefoot was looking at Ophelia and sealed the bottle. Her vocal chords are still intact. The possessing entity may still be able to talk.

[bc56]

Shivernight Manor

Ophelia sits still and stoic. If she is worried by the threats, she doesn't show it. But she nods, keeping a defiant fire in her eyes. Then she suddenly lashes out with her full bulk at the door. It'll shudder, but probably hold. She's quite heavy and stronger than she looks.

[Earl of Purple]

Shivernight Manor

Bluefoot jumps as Ophelia slams into the door, slipping and falling off her footstool halfling and landing with a thud. "Don't just stand there, you idiots! Get more furniture. Barricade it. Does the mistress know you've caught her?" If not, and they found out about her some other way, then Bluefoot's going to be annoyed. But then, maybe Sapphira told this lot that she'll need people to do some chanting soon. "Bunny, fetch another bottle, and my shortsword. Silkyfinger, grab a large bucket or pot or something and fill it with water. Applesniffer, get more knives." The halflings she points at as she gives instructions run off, first Bunnygiggle then the pyjama-clad footstool (who is a bit more awake now, and quite scared) then the assassin who had been lurking in the shadows. Applesniffer will return first, a bandoleer of knives across her torso.