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  1. - Top - End - #511
    Troll in the Playground
     
    bc56's Avatar

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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    Alleyfter Church -> Bombed-out Zone

    Splitting up again? Sapphira is frustrated for a moment, before turning to follow the hound. If the mastermind here is clever, which they must be, chasing Prumathe and Serket around will be useless. It's time she had a little chat with whoever's in charge here, face to face

    Ell Hive

    I don't think she wants to destroy me, Sekhmet replies, I think she needs me for something. Fiends don't normally have children. Sekhmet isn't going to dispute that advice. She knows it's a wise precaution. She's probably trying to set a trap for me.
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

    Quote Originally Posted by William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.i.46
    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  2. - Top - End - #512
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    Church --> GLoG

    Prumathe and the armour golem go. They'll catch a bus, and he's trying to be fast, not sneaky. No doubling back on himself, torturous routes or anything like that; it'd be hard to lose Sapphira anyway because the golem is following him, and he doesn't want to lose that.
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  3. - Top - End - #513
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    The decrepit, wheelchair-ridden man leans forward further into the light as the mercenaries below respond. An unsettling smirk forms upon his cracked face, his grotesque features contorted into a labyrinth of split tissue and deep wrinkles. Joints crackle and bones groan as he raises his arms up upon the balcony railing before him. Bony fingers clack against the fine wood, the noise blending in with sound of his sandpaper-throat, his great gray tongue fat and dry in his mouth. The man clears his throat for a second or two, droplets of blood oozing forth from between shriveled lips.

    His gaze is intense, and his sickening grin only widens as he orates. "Acid? Beetles? Creative, you've the mind for the wet work, don't you? I can see it in your eyes, that glint what shines in the brightest of lights. Your friend, however... closer to the mark.

    {Scrubbed}

    "Ah, such excitement. Yes, that was a festival with which today's festivals cannot compete! Even the inquisition gave us no pleasure, then. There's no passion in our post-revolutionary murders! Now they are all official. We condemn to death without emotion, and there's no singular personal death to be had, only an anonymous cheapened death which we could dole out to entire nations on a mathematical basis until the time comes for all life to be extinguished."

    "Perhaps that would be for the best."


    --

    There's a long, eerie pause wherein the man stares out blankly into space. He slowly places his hands back in his lap, murmuring something softly as he does so. "Master, master... Master, yes. La Marquis."

    "Donatien Alphonse François."

    "A name I went by, once. To most... I was Marquis de Sade."
    Last edited by truemane; 2020-03-01 at 12:24 PM. Reason: Scrubbed

  4. - Top - End - #514
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    To be honest, it's rather fortunate that Marin isn't super-well-versed in her French history.

    The way he describes the death sentence is already making her shiver; if Marin recognized that name then she would definitely be weirded out and worried.

    "That...that's exciting," the catgirl says to the enthusiastic description. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Marquis de Sade. I'm Marin. I, uh, from central Africa." Not really sure where her parents came from before they went there, but she grew up there.
    His name's French, right? She could've sworn she saw some French writing, too. Should be from some version of Earth, then.

    She gives a moment for Olvisin to introduce herself, and say things if she wants to.

    And then, Marin adds, "You wanted us to retrieve a book from some catacombs, right?" she asks, verifying what she remembers. "I was hoping to see a map of the place, if possible."
    Last edited by 5a Violista; 2020-02-29 at 02:58 AM.
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  5. - Top - End - #515
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    [The Pyramid of the Cosmos]

    Jaahlyn was convinced she was going to die.
    She had been convinced of this ever since she had heard of this mission and it already looked like it was about to happen as the structure was starting to give away around them.
    It was either that or the serpent miss Jones had so foolishly provoked, or perhaps both.
    So as the beast spoke, possibly offering her chance to live just a little bit longer she certainly wasn't going to argue as what it demanded fitted perfectly into her objective description. Well, apart of the part of not trusting Feia's minions but it wanted to be freed from her thrall, right?

    The satyr couldn't really move up to it and try to rip off it's chains but she did have her music. Taking up her flute she puts it to her lips and starts playing the tunes of freedom.
    All physical, mental and magical shackles of those who heard the music would start to loosen. Giving them not only the chance but the strength to break free of their own if they were truly willing.

  6. - Top - End - #516
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    Yeech. Ew. That'll teach Olvisin to underestimate human creativity in dealing out death and pain. Sounds like religion was involved, too. Inquisitors. That's what happens when you worship made-up gods instead of real and sophisticated machinery.

    "I'm Olvisin Zullit-Oblek. From the Garruvaheen colony... very far away from here."
    My FFRP characters. Avatar by Ashen Lilies. Sigatars by Ashen Lilies, Gullara and Purple Eagle.
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  7. - Top - End - #517
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    Bombed-out Zone
    Quote Originally Posted by bc56 View Post
    Splitting up again? Sapphira is frustrated for a moment, before turning to follow the hound. If the mastermind here is clever, which they must be, chasing Prumathe and Serket around will be useless. It's time she had a little chat with whoever's in charge here, face to face.
    So this is a red zone.
    It's rather dangerous, and probably only maintained through some dimensional reality warping nonsense.
    What we have is an absurd situation of constant battle.
    It's evening. The zombies are starting to get up for the evening to try to feast on the living.
    The little green aliens are venturing out of their fortified saucers to retrieve the latest nanomesh capsules from their landing points.
    And of course the killer robots never really let up their barrage; bullets are flying everywhere.

    You see, the mastermind has no reason to send the hound straight back to their lair. There are many other things to accomplish before the next dawn.
    In this case, a spot of practice.
    The hound leaps over a barricade, eyes flashing, and carves the arms off of a zombie at the tail end of the horde. A handful of the undead notice the arrival of a living thing nearby and turn towards the hiveling.

    Quote Originally Posted by Earl of Purple View Post
    Prumathe and the armour golem go. They'll catch a bus, and he's trying to be fast, not sneaky. No doubling back on himself, torturous routes or anything like that; it'd be hard to lose Sapphira anyway because the golem is following him, and he doesn't want to lose that.
    Sometime later, a confused weaver ritualist hiveling shows up at the church, and eventually leaves empty-handed.

    Ell Hive
    Quote Originally Posted by bc56 View Post
    I don't think she wants to destroy me, Sekhmet replies, I think she needs me for something. Fiends don't normally have children. Sekhmet isn't going to dispute that advice. She knows it's a wise precaution. She's probably trying to set a trap for me.
    Regardless of her exact intentions, your response should be the same. Should you get close to her, she will doubtless attempt to bring you through a portal to her domain, from which you would never return. That's the most obvious risk, though really there's all sorts of things Sapphira could do. You are correct that you in particular must be part of her plans, as she did not consider replacing you with another marquess or a mortal accomplice of hers. So long as you avoid participating, you will necessarily be foiling the fiend's plan.
    Last edited by Recaiden; 2020-02-29 at 11:52 PM.
    ~Inner Circle~
    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    He takes normality and reason and turns them UP TO 11!
    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    Recaiden, stop using your mastery of the English language to confuse the issue.
    Echidna by Serpentine

  8. - Top - End - #518
    Troll in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    Bombed-Out Zone

    Sapphira can be patient. Learning the hound's abilities is a worthwhile task, and she can simply remain invisible and watch.
    And maybe help out a bit, weaving subtle magics to place a little unexpected misfortune on anything that comes too close to killing her quarry.

    Ell Hive

    Right, yes. All this waiting is getting to Sekhmet. This is really her problem, and she can't do anything about it. I'd, uh, like to go stretch my wings a bit. Maybe flying around will take her mind off things for a while. Anything's better than sitting here and dreading whatever news comes next.
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

    Quote Originally Posted by William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.i.46
    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  9. - Top - End - #519
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    Hattish Thing's Avatar

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    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    Sade slumps back in his wheelchair, raising a sleeve to wipe the bloody froth from his chin before glancing down towards Olvisin. The old man's gaze is deeply violating, his dark brown eyes seeming as if to pierce all manner of flesh despite the fact that his yellowed, bloodshot orbs hardly seemed to be looking in the same direction. Half of his crooked mouth rises up his torn and tattered face to form a grotesque half-smile, exposing blackened gums and broken teeth. "Mm... exotic." A stitch rips slightly as he speaks, allowing for a trickle of blood to ooze forth.

    He nods towards the goblin for a second before leaning forward and licking what remains of his lips, sucking the moisture from the scraps of flesh there. The sound is revolting, as is the expression upon his face. "Are they harsh, are they cruel towards you, your kind? Do you soil your pretty little shoes when the gutter's deep and red, while the songbirds sing their sugar calls?" He coughs into his hand, spewing a dark, black fluid onto the balcony railing before continuing. "Of course they do, nothing ever changes! Long live all emperors, kings, bishops, and popes! Long live watery broth and the straitjacket, ha ha ha!"

    With slunched back, Sade sighs. "I've heard stories, tales from the conductors of the electric cities of your world. Your people, enslaved, beaten down! As I was. Ah, but we're all small links in a long and heavy chain. Do they hunt you down? Blood hounds and dark men with dark thoughts?"

    "Your people, are they free, now?"


    Sade stares off into space for a moment or so before glancing towards Marin, an expression of distaste upon his face. "There's time yet. Humor an old man."
    Last edited by Hattish Thing; 2020-03-01 at 02:12 AM.

  10. - Top - End - #520
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    Honestly, Marin's a little glad that she's being basically ignored.

    She'll give the old man more time if that's what it takes for her to be ignored.
    She turns to Olvisin and mouths the word 'sorry'.

    The catgirl, who is not a goblin, turns back to the fire to continue warming up.
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  11. - Top - End - #521
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    Olvisin's ears dip down and when she speaks, her lips reveal just a little more of her sharp teeth. While her people might not have the same grudge against slavery as the southern goblins like Dipsnig do, Le Sade is still touching a nerve here...

    "They used to, but no more. We're free now. And humans are left holding on to scraps of what they had."
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  12. - Top - End - #522
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    Bombed-Out Zone
    Quote Originally Posted by bc56 View Post
    Sapphira can be patient. Learning the hound's abilities is a worthwhile task, and she can simply remain invisible and watch.
    And maybe help out a bit, weaving subtle magics to place a little unexpected misfortune on anything that comes too close to killing her quarry.
    It quickly becomes clear that one hound can defeat an arbitrary number of slow shambling zombies. It races back and forth through the horde, slicing through decaying flesh with its bladed foreclaws and then leaping away. It uses its three-tentacled upper limbs to ward off and grasping arms or lunging faces that come too close, and occasionally has to tilt its armored collar to block a blow. It more slowly becomes clear that it is playing with them, seeing how far it can let a zombie shamble and still defeat it in one motion, hos long it can delay a dodge and still get away without making contact.
    After one of these close calls is weirdly not close, it hops away, atop a broken brick chimney. Why is it so lucky?

    It heads away, towards where an alien tripod machine is trampling towards a fortified robot wall.

    Ell Hive
    Quote Originally Posted by bc56 View Post
    Right, yes. All this waiting is getting to Sekhmet. This is really her problem, and she can't do anything about it. I'd, uh, like to go stretch my wings a bit. Maybe flying around will take her mind off things for a while. Anything's better than sitting here and dreading whatever news comes next.
    Go. Recover.
    The sky here has a fair number of hivelings filling it. Dukes drifting here and there, idly watching the workers and experiments while keeping watch on other mountaintops, mantises coming and going from their hovering tower, Lokvah leading her half-dozen mantises on dizzying aerial maneuvers. But the space is still wide open, the world falling away to all sides.
    ~Inner Circle~
    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    He takes normality and reason and turns them UP TO 11!
    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    Recaiden, stop using your mastery of the English language to confuse the issue.
    Echidna by Serpentine

  13. - Top - End - #523
    Troll in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    Bombed-Out Zone

    Sapphira follows behind the hound at a distance. She doesn't want to alert it to her presence, but if it decides to take on something it can't hope to defeat, she'll need to make its victory look believable. Maybe she should just tear its mind apart for the information she wants from it? That would certainly be quicker, and it's not nearly as valuable as Prumathe or Serket. She'll wait on that inclination... For now.

    Ell Hive

    Sekhmet leaps from the mountain and glides downward, putting some distance between her and the hive before beginning to circle. She can't stay out here long, it's too cold, but she needs some time to think without distraction. What could Sapphira want with her? Why did she wait so long before coming? Can she really trust the hive? If Osa can freeze her in place like that, what else can she do?
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

    Quote Originally Posted by William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.i.46
    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  14. - Top - End - #524
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    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    With a chuckle, Sade continues. "Does the thought put a smile upon your face? Your oppressors, to be oppressed? Was it right, you think?"

    "Is it ever?"

  15. - Top - End - #525
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    At this point, Marin has no choice but to interject:

    "Of course it's right," she says, having an opinion on this subject. "It always feels right." Presumably a pretty strong opinion, given how she was staying out of the conversation until now.

    But then, the catgirl goes back to the fire: drying out her hair and the fur on her tail is pretty difficult, and she really wants to make sure there's no more worms in there.
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  16. - Top - End - #526
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    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    There are certainly no smiles on Olvisin's face. She looks somewhere between uncomfortable and irritated.

    "It's not- it doesn't matter now. It happened so long ago that not even my grandmother's grandmother would remember. I don't want to sit around dwelling on old grudges and how they were righteously paid back."
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  17. - Top - End - #527
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    [Everfree Park]

    A pair of gifts, wrapped with care, love, and long practice, are opened. Below the gaudy paper are plain brown boxes. Inside the boxes, nestled in more crumbled, colorful paper, are a pair of stones. A simple grey, ovalish rock with a hole through the middle, joined by some opaque white crystal. The hole is large enough that the two halves of each stone is held together rather tenuously. It could probably be snapped in half without much trouble.

    "Your gift. And your miracle," Nicholas says as he pours himself another pot of coffee. "When your greatest hour of need comes, break one of them, and you will have help."

    That's a pretty classic boon, isn't it?

    "Your task is a daunting one. But providence has brought you here, I think. You are here because you are able."

    That's a vote of confidence, certainly.

    So the question is.

    Do our heroes trust this guy?
    Warning! Random Encounter™ detected!
    The Eternal Game Nightmære Stuff
    It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, just how awesome you look doing it.

  18. - Top - End - #528
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    Within the Portal - You Wouldn't Know

    Quote Originally Posted by Chaotic Bob View Post
    Libby clasps her hands together, taking a sharp breath at the sudden impact of the ambient cold, but straightens herself.
    This is what she has been aiming for. What all of this has amounted to.
    Finally.
    A little longer, my love.
    One of the Magtoks fiddles with their left hand, adjusting it to radiate heat, before extending the warm and toasty appendage towards Libby. It's still not a hundred percent clear what her aim is here, but he has a few pretty good guesses. None of those guesses explicitly prohibit venturing down into that frozen wasteland arm in arm with the fallen goddess. Blue probably will say something snide, but I mean, **** Blue, who cares what he thinks? We can do that and keep an eye on the soldier and keep an eye on Blue and send a couple MagDrones running ahead to scout for us, and still have plenty of eyes and arms left over.


    Within the Portal - Still Alive

    Quote Originally Posted by Chaotic Bob View Post
    The man had done something horrible, he knew immediately.
    Horrible beyond words and there would be no reparation this time.
    And to his thoughts, the voice spoke one last time.
    "A force of order as long as you should live...and today you shall live forever."
    Freyja dies today. She survives today. She dies again, for the first time, for the hundredth time. She doesn't die at all.

    Magtok has tried so many different things. Seidhr. Binding demons. Binding valkyries. Courtly intrigue. Brute force. Subtlety. Marriage. Disease. Diplomacy. Carving a sword from the bark of Yggdrasil. A detailed psychological profile of every sapient being within a hundred mile radius. Civil war. Meditating his way to enlightenment. Committing suicide. Giving up. Going mad. Going on vacation. Replaying his entire life's story and that of every past clone in his head. Discovering that Magtok Prime had psychic powers, and wondering where his went. Picking his head back up and returning to his mission. Burning Freyja in effigy. Burning Feiadyne in effigy. Trying to find a way to kill without so much as an ounce of destiny or intent in our body, so that even psychics, prophets, and omniscient beings might be fooled. Trying to learn how to unmake a deity with just a word, the way Libby was unmade.

    Quote Originally Posted by Chaotic Bob View Post
    "Pro vobis, deae: ---------."
    Starting a cult for a goddess who doesn't exist. Carving line after line of blasphemous litanies glorifying deicide into his very programming. Learning how to hold and swing an axe. Learning how to do so without touching the axe. Learning how to hold and swing an entire army.

    On the host his spear | did Othin hurl,
    Then in the world | did war first come;
    The wall that girdled | the gods was broken,
    And the field by the warlike | Wanes was trodden.

    Then sought the gods | their assembly-seats,
    The holy ones, | and council held,
    Whether the gods | should tribute give,
    Or to all alike | should worship belong.


    Army-tossing is one of his favorites. It's even better if you toss both sides at the same time, so everyone's all ****ed up in the bloody aftermath. Usually, someone impales him before he can muster up the energy for a good toss, or someone smites him for the audacity of being within a hundred miles of the battle, but he thinks he's chosen a nice little out-of-the way spot this time. Everyone out there is good and distracted, and they surely won't notice some speck on the horizon, some hooded mortal tossing a walking stick aside and raising its arms to the heavens.


    Without the Portal - Want You Gone

    Spoiler
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chaotic Bob View Post
    [MagQuest - Needs]

    Needs may be uniquely situated to glean some fragment of what happens, in the broken stutter between moments.
    A great writhing parasite, passing over and through the branches of the timeline, strangling and devouring it. A golden goddess' second and final sacrifice. A wyrm's raging desperation.

    The tower he was just retreating from is almost entirely gone. A broken stump remains, closer to the ground where it is almost entirely concealed within the depths of a raging sandstorm.
    From the great height he is evidently at here, the scene appears to be similarly presented as far as the sands permit vision. What had previously been a sprawling forest of stone spires seems to have been leveled.

    A few still stand, in the immediate area, but the majority seem to have been toppled or otherwise ruined.
    The sky above and beyond the sandstorm is black, purple lightning roiling within its depths.

    Tremendous magical potential saturates the air, thick like tangible humidity, but almost all of it is immediately torn off to some point in the distance as time stutters forth one more time.
    A great spike of purple lightning, as thick as any of the towers, lances down from the clouds on the horizon.
    In its wake, there is a massive shockwave, rumbling its way through the already fevered sand in the air. Perhaps, also, a roar.
    Time stabilizes. For now.

    The portal the rest of the Magtoks (and Libby and soldier) took remains behind Needs, but it is now floating in the air quite some distance from the ground below.


    Needs crosses his legs together, floating in the lotus position with his eyes closed, quietly reflecting on the crisis at hand. This is a morally gray conflict if ever there was one. The beast is at the gates, the virgin sacrifice has escaped, and very soon, someone will ask him what this reckless, foolhardy misadventure could possibly accomplish, beyond the undoing of all that was, is, and shall be. Why doom us all, when it would only cost one life to save the entire universe? It is a very good question, one he had no worthy answer to for the vast majority of this idiots' crusade. He has been seeking a third option, a resolution that is neither mass suicide nor occult sacrifice, and he thinks he has found it. There is a way to save the day, and no one else will need to die.

    Dozens upon dozens of eldritch wards assemble themselves around Needs, like a chrysalis of ancient text. Black prophecies written in dead languages tainted with horror and death pollute the air, sandwiched between row after row of holy latin scripture written in gold and flame. The wars only grow and grow in number, as shapeshifting sorcerer adds more and more layers with every passing moment. Nobody is going near this portal without his approval.
    Last edited by Lord Magtok; 2020-03-03 at 05:43 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by RabbitHoleLost View Post
    Magtok's the best
    "You probably found 'How to Survive a Robot Uprising' in the humor section. Let's just hope that is where it belongs."
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  19. - Top - End - #529
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    Deathkeeper's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Morty View Post
    [Inside Amusement Park]

    Geerta's ears perk up.

    "Alchemy? A respectable profession for sure, but I've never heard of it being practised alongside sorcery."

    "He comes from a different place, dear. Things must be done differently there."

    "I suppose so. I think I've heard that in many places, alchemy only concerns potions and the like." She looks at Isaac expectantly.
    [Inside Amusement Park]

    Isaac nods. He ignores any hint of condescension in their attitude.
    ”The starter course is potions and reagents. Subsequent classes go into more complex subject matter, but I admit I don’t know if I’ll get there juggling it with my other courses of study.” he puts simply.
    Spako Highclaws by Ceika.

    [Sorry Boss, but as always, I get the last word.]

  20. - Top - End - #530
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    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    Marquis de Sade turns his head over towards Marin as she interjects, bones cracking as they grind beneath thin, dry flesh. Small separations in the skin appear as he turns towards her, his epidermal tissue splitting like paper. With a snide tone to his crackling voice, he barks a response. "Always? There are no absolutes in life, girl. Your dishonest objections stem from undue compassion. Yes, now she speaks as an aristocrat would! The wheelchair-bound nobleman grins cruelly before pointing a crooked finger towards her. "There's no shame in it, you can't help not knowing what you've never been taught. In my time, I was one of the great teachers! So, listen closely to the most important lesson you'll ever learn; compassion is the property of the privileged classes! When the pitier lowers himself to give to a beggar, he throbs with contempt. To protect his riches he pretends to be moved, and his gift to the beggar amounts to no more than a kick, and you know that. Yea, friends, no small emotions, please. Your feelings should never be petty, for you just as for me, only the most extreme actions matter!"

    He turns in his seat back towards Olvisin, continuing in a far calmer tone. "Come, divulge the words caught in your mouth, lest you die choking on them. Here's a bit of advice, though. When dealing with philosophical matters, reflect upon yourself! Before deciding what is wrong and what is right, first we must find out what we are. A challenging prospect, I do not know myself, in fact! No sooner have I discovered something than I begin to doubt it, and I have to destroy it again."

    "But what I do now is as follows; what we do is just a shadow of what we want to do, and the only truths we can point to are the ever-changing truths of our own experience. I do not know if I am hangman or victim, for I imagine the most horrible tortures, and as I describe them, I suffer them myself."

    "Through philosophy, my soul's unshackled. There is nothing that I could not do and everything fills me with horror."
    Last edited by Hattish Thing; 2020-03-03 at 03:51 PM.

  21. - Top - End - #531
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    Default Re: Serious Plots 8: Rawr serisaurus!

    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    Once again, Marin is a little glad that the guy is focused more on Olvisin.

    The Marquis de Sade is their employer, so she shouldn't antagonize him. That would be bad...but he's also the type of person who she doesn't really like. As she wrings out her hair, she bites her lip to avoid saying anything else. Something about him just grates her wrong: maybe it's the atmosphere, maybe it was the stressful ride here, or maybe she's just in a bad mood right now, but his mannerisms and his speech definitely reminds her of somebody that she loathed.

    Sure, she's still listening, but luckily she still has her hair to distract her and to keep her from interjecting again.

    She's really glad Olvisin is taking this so well. While here, Olvisin can basically be the face.
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  22. - Top - End - #532
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    [Château de Lacoste - Main Hall]

    Olvisin gives de Sade a flat, incredulous look. She's not going to say what she's thinking, as that would be rude to their employer. But she's not very inclined to play a long.

    "With all respect, sir, philosophy and history aren't really my areas of expertise. I'm a marksman and a field engineer."
    My FFRP characters. Avatar by Ashen Lilies. Sigatars by Ashen Lilies, Gullara and Purple Eagle.
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  23. - Top - End - #533
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    [Within the Portal]

    There is very little snark from Blue about Magtok's actions. He can do as he pleases. It doesn't concern him.

    Love is such a silly thing.

    It makes people do stupid things.

    Just look around. Look at this place. The consequence of a lovestruck fool's stupidity.

    I probably can't provide an exit strategy from this place. Whatever Libitina desires from this place, I hope it also includes a way out.

    *****

    [Without the Portal]

    Whatever you're thinking, Needs, it's not good enough. Guaranteed, in fact, as long as you stick to the hero's story. Whatever grand plan you have, it will serve only to delay Feia exactly long enough for Magtok to burst free from the portal, with whatever great treasure there is inside that will let him win the day. Dance to the piper's tune, little rat.

    You could just press the button, Needs.

    You could just press the button.

    Why not just press the button?

    Do you even need to press the button?

    Of course you don't, but it's more fun that way.

    ...

    If we're obeying the story though, the Prof is entirely irrelevant to this. Needs shall buy time, and possibly make a heroic sacrifice in the process, and Magtok shall emerge triumphant and save the day. What a beautiful tale. Truly.

    It'd be so strange for Feia to obey these rules too though, and all these delays, and the oddities that keep happening with every delay! All very concerning. And there remains this other unknown in the form of Syncope. Syncope has no place in this story either. Perhaps that is a means by which Feia intends to subvert the script? And Syncope's here, somewhere. The Prof can feel it. That little spark of him that continue to quietly exist separately from the rest of this madness continues his attempts to track the irritating unknown. Somewhere in what little is left of this tower, perhaps?
    Before you criticise someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticise them, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes.

  24. - Top - End - #534
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    [Bombed-Out Zone]
    Quote Originally Posted by bc56 View Post
    Sapphira follows behind the hound at a distance. She doesn't want to alert it to her presence, but if it decides to take on something it can't hope to defeat, she'll need to make its victory look believable. Maybe she should just tear its mind apart for the information she wants from it? That would certainly be quicker, and it's not nearly as valuable as Prumathe or Serket. She'll wait on that inclination... For now.
    The alien vehicle is a much more challenging target.
    But it doesn't notice the hound as a threat until it's already close. The hiveling doesn't even need to dodge laser fire on its way in. It's only once it tears open the tripod's leg, sending the machine tilting dangerously, that heat rays start looking for it and twisty metal clamps start reaching for it. It's pushing itself now, as it leaps between the limbs of the teetering war machine, inflicting deep cuts here and there.
    The robots, under the classic principle of "the enemy of my enemy is also my enemy", open fire and send a hail of bullets towards the hound, and there are more than a few that seem to be aimed at Sapphira. These are very low powered projectiles. Most of them are literally bouncing off the hound's shell. But they could at least put your eye out.

    Ell Hive
    Quote Originally Posted by bc56 View Post
    Sekhmet leaps from the mountain and glides downward, putting some distance between her and the hive before beginning to circle. She can't stay out here long, it's too cold, but she needs some time to think without distraction. What could Sapphira want with her? Why did she wait so long before coming? Can she really trust the hive? If Osa can freeze her in place like that, what else can she do?
    You can trust the hive to do protect you. Not much further than that.
    ~Inner Circle~
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  25. - Top - End - #535
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    Bombed-Out Zone

    Sapphira can just ignore the bullets. Unless they're silver, holy, or enchanted, they can't hurt her for long. The projectiles just sort of disappear when they embed themselves in her unseen body, then reappear when they're pushed out by her regeneration. She's getting a little impatient. Why can't the hound just hurry up and go home?

    Ell Hive

    Sekhmet knows that. She told Prumathe as much earlier. She hopes he's okay. He's at a church, so he should be fine. She descends and lands, somewhat awkwardly. She still hasn't entirely gotten the hang of that motion. She walks in the snow a ways, still lost in thought, her tail trailing between her footprints.
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    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  26. - Top - End - #536
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    [Everfree Park]

    Sam takes out the rock and slips it into his pocket.
    ”Well, thanks.” He’s not sure if he entirely gets what’s going on, but the instructions were simple at least.
    ”I still don’t want to jump into a big scary maw but you’re insisting that’s what we gotta do.” It is certainly not a fun prospect.
    Spako Highclaws by Ceika.

    [Sorry Boss, but as always, I get the last word.]

  27. - Top - End - #537
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    Beholder

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    [MagQuest - Within]

    The earth trembles chaotically and a great cracking of stone can be heard in the distance. As its echo falls silent, an unearthly and bestial growl precedes a howl that is joined by another, greater howl.

    ~The Rescue Party~

    Appreciation for Magtok's offered warmth is cut short as Libby stumbles at the sudden onset of an evident earthquake, while the soldier steadies himself by ducking down to a crouch.
    "Ah, I think we have arrived at a bad time."

    To punctuate her statement, streaks of light lance down from the clouds above, towards where that smoke pours up in the distance. More horns can be heard amid a rumbling of thunder.

    Making a bit of a face, she adds: "and that is most likely where we need to be. While I hope he isn't in the middle of whatever conflict is playing out, he should be near."
    With a very unstated "hopefully". Tracking him down was always the most up-in-the-air part of this plan. Either he would be obvious and easily freed, or this was going to be a bumbling mess until they ran out of time. But there's more of a chance of success than they would have had outside, she's sure.

    "I...um."
    Libby figures she should probably actually clue her companions in now, to some degree or another. Where to begin? Will they even take this well? Consider it a deception, or agree on the potential pragmatic value? Or see it as a threat?
    Magtok does have some...tendencies in that regard. But he is also more than capable of pulling himself together in times of crisis, such as this.

    ...wait. There's a possible idea.
    "Maggy, dear. Your selves keep track of each other, don't they?"

    ~The Lost Magtok~

    The world serpent is shifting again and the two great hounds are taking the field.
    They're late, so something else has changed here, but that isn't so surprising anymore. Fenrir has usually arrived quite some time ago, but it would see this week he is arriving with Garmr at his tail.
    Left unattended, that probably bodes poorly for the gods that usually struggle with them individually.

    As the hulking beasts lope out of the horizon, various groups on the battlefield below cry out alarms and more horns sound.
    From the clouds above, a reinforcing squad of valkyrie descend with meteoric violence into a particular group of giants. Clad in splendid but bloodied armor, Odin turns his steed from the group and directs it towards the approaching hounds.
    The great rumbling of thunder follows the Odinsson Thor breaking free to join his father, leaving a scattering of bodies in his wake. Like a violent sea, more battle and conflict close behind in his wake.

    Some figures have still yet to take the field, namely the forces of Muspell and Freyja's. It is probable they are both waiting for a more opportune moment, likely related to Fenrir and Garmr's contributions.

    Off to Magtok's side, a ragged and sick-looking falcon descends to perch upon his discarded stick.
    One of Loki's more common guises, before he joins the conflict.

    [MagQuest - Without]

    As Needs begins his work, the sandstorm below seems to slow, further and further with each moment.
    The grains of sand remain in the air, but as a static cloud above the ground rather than the raging storm it was prior. Not terribly long after their motion stills, miniscule threads numbering in the thousands sprout out from each grain, heading off towards that distant point where the lightning bolt struck.

    A colossal amount of magic is poured into this, both very obviously Feiadyne's and churned together with what appears to be some chimeric mixture of divine forces.
    Whatever purpose all of this is supposed to serve evidently ends up for naught, as a graying crawls back along each threat to their respective sands, moments before each thread snaps out of existence.
    There is a distant roar of rage, accompanying this.



    It stares at Needs.
    A house-sized, iridescent eye a mere stone's throw away and above. It didn't seem to come from anywhere, no traces of magic hinting at a teleportation or indications that it invisibility moved into position. It is simply there now. Briefly.
    The air it occupied smears gray and dead, but then it is not there anymore.

    Instead, an unfolding and roiling mass of worm-like flesh the size of a car likewise exists somewhere below and to the right the precise moment the eye exits. From a deranged perspective outside of strictly spatial dimensions, they appear to be the exact same piece of some aberrant entity, with merely slight adjustments to perception "moving" it to a different spot.

    In its presence, more air continues to gray and still. Nothing is happening on a strictly physical level, but beyond that, that roiling mass of entity siphons away more Time.
    It is no immediate threat to Needs, but the spread of temporal death will reach him sooner than later.


    As for the Professor...
    Traces of Syncope do continue to exist in the wreckage of that tower, stretching far into the earth below. It seems to grow more solid with more depth, small branches of existence expanding into a convoluted system of wide roots. Following them further does seem to lead towards specific other tower ruins, but...tracing that does not go unnoticed for terribly long.

    It is a somewhat strained and less synthetic than what had been heard within the "dungeon". Something larger.
    Can we indulge this later? Keeping this functional at all is difficult enough at the moment.
    "Fear and creativity are conjoined twins."
    Absentee Spirit

  28. - Top - End - #538
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    Sekhmet's Mobile Communicative Device

    It's ringing again! Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Probably the basic ringtone of her phone, since people don't usually change the default notification noise when the number that is ringing them is their own number. Because that's what's happening here- the phone being used to contact Sekhmet's phone is the one in her cabin.
    Terrowin Avatar by HappyTurtle. Much thanks!

  29. - Top - End - #539
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    Sekhmet's Phone

    Sekhmet's cell phone emits a musical ringing tone. She pulls it out and looks at it. It takes her a moment to recognize the number as her cabin phone. That's strange. Should she answer? It could be another trick, but it could be someone from GLoG looking for her. How would Sapphira have found her home? It must be someone searching for her. She answers, half expecting Osa to stop her again.
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

    Quote Originally Posted by William Shakespeare, King Lear, IV.i.46
    'Tis the time's plague, when madmen lead the blind.
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  30. - Top - End - #540
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    [Bombed-Out Zone]

    Why would it go home already? It's not tired!
    It is being driven back by the hail of bullets, almost being caught by the snaking claws of the machine, having a tentacle cluster sliced off by a heat-ray, jumping from the very mechanical hands of the machine to the plastic dome and smashing it's way in-
    The fight is going to continue all night, and the hound's part in it might last just as long.

    [Sekhmet's Phone]

    GLoG is unlikely to be compromised. Proceed.
    It's more likely that Sapphira is faking the number that seems to be calling somehow, but Osa doesn't know phones well enough to bring that up.
    ~Inner Circle~
    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    He takes normality and reason and turns them UP TO 11!
    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    Recaiden, stop using your mastery of the English language to confuse the issue.
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