Home 25: Still making mortgage payments

[Ashen Lilies]

[/COLOR][Cass' Tower]

By the time Cass is finished cooking, Electra's nose has betrayed her, and the delicious scent of sausage mixed with eggs and toast summons the reploid woman before Cass even has a chance to call her.

"That smells amazing!" she exclaims, wrapping an arm around Cass's waist and giving her a squeeze and a grin before helping her get the food to the dining table. Her reaction to the first bite is equally exuberant, and every bite thereafter is seemingly savored. Cass has apparently hit it out of the park with breakfast. Electra gives her a contented smile when she's finished.

"That was so good. If you ever decide you're tired of the mercenary business, you should open a restaurant."

[Cass' Tower]

"A restaurant?" says Cass, with a sudden sardonic grin. "Not a bar? I seem to have a strange idea about running one. I could call it the Blue Hydra's Nest."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Cass' Tower]

Electra grins back.

"It could be both! But where would you want to set something like that up?"

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Fort Aegis]

"I-I mean, why not get both and see which one takes your fancy more? No harm in having options!"

Sylvess definitely just wants to see Spako posing in a bunch of different outfits.

He scratches his chin, and nods hesitantly. "A-and I can try working on the tough act a bit, I guess."

*****

[Felix's Tower]

"Hmm. If you want a lead, the Hunting Grounds is a common place to find all manner of mythical creatures, but it is quite a dangerous place. I confess, I keep myself to myself a bit too much here. I would encourage you to seek out anyone else of a similarly learned scholarly leaning, but I can't say I really have any contacts, myself." He's been a little too reclusive, perhaps. "Try with what little I've given you for now, and I shall do some research. If you find yourself hitting a dead end for too long, come back and hopefully I'll have a more promising lead for you by then."

[Recaiden]

Group A

An abandoned temple, perhaps? It seems to be laid out that way. Sekhmet heads to the door, to check its hinges and its handle. Is it locked? Or perhaps rusted shut? What is it made from?

Just so. An abandoned temple.
The door is stone, unlocked, but just jammed shut by the shifting of foundations beneath it. Otherwise it would have swung open already from the pull of gravity.
Sekhmet...these shouldn't be here, right?
Spike is looking at the statues on the opposite wall. You see, they're all hive creatures. From front to back, you see: Sophia, the weaver Emef, Sekhmet, Sylvette, and a miniature model of what must have been the first strider.

Group B

The other two are ordered into the server room, rather than to tangle with the unknown force, although Sekhmet does not recognize what a server is. Go, cut open the door, see what's on the other side.

The hound hops the gap to follow its twin¹ into the server room.
Beyond the flimsy wooden door is a hallway. The carpet is dusty and has patches of mold. A right turn leads to a room with row on row of computer terminals. The lights are off. Most of the machines are powered down, but there are two still humming along. The hallway continues after. To the left, a room full of tables and chairs, empty except a few forgotten items: pencils, notepads, a single decrepit teddy bear. The hallway ends in a steep upward staircase.

^{1 - Hounds always hatch in pairs (unless, rarely, they're quadruplets.)}

Group C

A dead end. Turn back and head to the bloodstained chamber. Be wary of traps.

The hounds return carefully, one ahead of the other, tapping on each stone to find traps and looseness, snapping through the grate only carefully. It's slow going.

Group D

The hounds are not prevented from killing the monster, but Sekhmet does order one to stop afterwards, and examines whatever it was through the hound's eyes.

It's over a moment later, the monster cut open by their claws and dead upon the stone.
It does look like a deep sea octopus, with webbing between its tentacles and spines instead of suckers on the inside. But it's cleverly disguised, chameleon-like, as part of the stone of the ceiling. And it seems to have eight eyes in a ring, rather than two on the sides like a normal creature.

[bc56]

Group A
Sekhmet shivers. This place looks old, but that's a statue of her, as well as other hive creatures. She runs a claw along her stone likeness' face. Who put these here? How did they know? They must be on the right track. Can an acid bomb eat through stone? Sekhmet asks Spike. She's already ordered one of the workers to bring a bomb over to the stuck door.

Group B
The creatures are ordered up the stairs, but Sekhmet is fairly sure they're no longer on the right path. Too little promising information, and she might recall them.

Group C
That's right. Easy does it. Sekhmet doesn't want to lose both these hounds to a mistake.

Group D
That thing looks dangerous. Is there any way the hounds could spot more of them lying in wait, now that they know what it is? They should keep an eye on the ceiling anyway, regardless.

[Recaiden]

Group A
It sure can. Will dissolve just about anything.

Spike is looking at Sophia's statue with concern. This place is old, must have been buried before any of us. But you're new. Tinkers are even newer. Did someone put these statues in recently? Who?
'Click!' goes the statue as Sekhmet brushes its face.
The back wall of the alcove shifts and slides away, revealing a narrow and twisty secret passage.

Meanwhile, the worker place an acid bomb against the stuck door, steps back, and lets the blockage sizzle away.

Group B
The hounds scramble up the stairs, with the tinker following behind fairly quickly. Up and up and up, past some empty pots, and through another door.
They come out in the far side of the rooms above the vault door.
They passed by here several posts ago, when everyone was together. They've gone in a big vertical circle.

Group C
Hounds remove and pass by the gate without any traps.
Just inside the narrow room they find a tripwire linked to a bunch of rubble. Seems designed to make a lot of noise rather than hurt anyone. Anyway, it's easy to hop over once you know it's there.
There was a battle here. Days ago, judging by the stillness and the smells. Humans, goblins, and something strange. Something familiar in spirit but not form. Something they're looking for? Or just a coincidence? It was wounded. Went left, through the door, rather than right, down the stairs (several steps missing).

Group D
Now that they know the monster's warmth, smell, general method of camouflage, they can probably spot any more of them.
Continuing forward with attention paid to any more ambushers, it seems they're going in a circle. Looping back around to the same place the right passageway would have taken them.
And indeed, a minute later the spiderwebs start to appear.

[bc56]

Groups A and D
The hounds from group D are recalled back to Sekhmet's location. They don't seem to be likely to find anything useful. The worker is ordered to open the now functioning door and see what lies beyond, but Sekhmet's real attention is on the secret passage. She cautiously enters, wondering who put it there. Either way, she's definitely on the right path.

Groups B and C
Group B is directed to join up with C and search the area around the battlefield to see if they can tell what the familiar creature is.

[Ashen Lilies]

[Cass' Tower]

Electra grins back.

"It could be both! But where would you want to set something like that up?"

[Cass' Tower]

Cass looks taken aback.

"O-oh, I wasn't expecting you to- uh..." She grins sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Sorry, it was kind of a dumb joke," she says.

[Recaiden]

Group A

Spike waits at the entrance to the secret tunnel.
The secret tunnel twists left, and then right, and then opens into a circular room.
The central feature of the room is a statue. The most central fact about this statue is that it's plated with silver.
Beyond that, it depicts a sixth humanoid hive creature. One probably unfamiliar to them. A face like any human woman. It has antennae like a stalker but even more of them, and a version of their running feet. On the back are wings that begin like a worker's arms, but end in a half-dozen long blades. Chitinous armor like a marquess, but covering more of the body and shaped to accentuate human femininity. Nails as glass-sharp as any tinker's claws.
It is clearly not a creature descended from Eurus. There are small variations in the armor shape and the edges, zigs instead of straight lines, hard points where there should be smooth tendrils. The aesthetics are slightly but completely off.
Around the sides of the room are inscribed more runes, prophecies of doom and loss.

Opening the door, the worker finds glass. Alembics, retorts, cylinders, test tubes, and phials.
Many of them are full of various fluids. Dark blood, oily spirits, distilled demonic energy... of course, many of them have spoiled in all the time the temple's been abandoned.

Group C

It takes B a while to catch up, but they're glad to leave that feeling of wrongness behind.
They begin searching high and low, to piece together the situation and begin tracking the semi-familiar entity.
The goblins were here first. Came up the stairway, made a camp by the grate. The creature came to investigate. The humans came in from the now splintered door. Fighting broke out. The creature was wounded. It fled...but signs are conflicting as to which direction.
Until the tinker arrives, and can say fairly conclusively that it must have flown out the door. West.

[bc56]

Group A
The silver statue glows in Sekhmet's presence, illuminating the room. Sekhmet examines the creature there curiously. She idly wishes her armor was shaped like that. It's much nicer than what she has. Are you, uh, seeing this? Do you know what she is? Sekhmet broadcasts images of the statue and all the prophecies back to the hive.

Group B
West then. After it. Perhaps this creature is the same as the one depicted in the statue?

[Recaiden]

Group A

The princesses remember glimpses, fragments, memories of memories passed down from before the Nexus.
The old queen. What can this mean?
The prophecies are several and perhaps contradictory.

• That this creature will be the doom of all the hive.
• That this creature will be the difference between the hive's survival and destruction.
• That with this creature, the hive will finally defeat their brothers.
• That the cycle of life ends with this creature.
• That this creature is the herald of something much worse which will come after.

The strongest human, of perfect Form - the hive was never able to grow a copy even half as strong - who joined us, and led the hive after our brothers slew the Thinkers and the King. Who created us princesses.

Group B
Unlikely. The familiar creature here has no trace of human in its scent, and is touched by the Nexus's spirits in a way the statue never was.
They follow its scent through a maze of twisty sewer passages, all alike. The trail becomes more confused as they go on. It has been back and forth through these passages, and the blood trail stops quickly - no surprise if it is what they hope; hive creatures heal quickly.

[Deathkeeper]

Fort Aegis

Spako considers it.
”Well, if you can get me clothes I’ll try on whatever. I can’t go to the store like this.” He gestures at his “bathhouse” state of dress.
"I can't shift clothes like you can." Well maybe he can, since his clothes do disappear and re-form when he turns into a bird and back. But he's never been able to make them from scratch.

Felix’s Tower

Krayger nods.
"Alright. Thanks, Felix. See you later." Krayger bows, perhaps a little facetiously, and exits the room. Off he goes! He's on a quest!

[bc56]

Group A
That's spooky. There must be some connection between the Hive and this temple. How else would there be images of both this and Sekhmet? Are there any other passages, any ways forth from this room? And who made this place? Sekhmet focuses, and sends outwards, not targeting anyone but hoping to reach the unknown sculptor if they're nearby. Hello? Is anyone there?

Group B
Without the blood trail, they'll have to track it by scent. Hopefully that's still effective enough.

[Recaiden]

Group A
She is back in the universe we hail from, completely cut off. The timelines do not match up.

Wouldn't you know, there's a patch of stone that's worn down, as if it were a path. Though it leads straight into a wall. Another hidden switch somewhere?
There's an acknowledgement of 'being there' from the hounds, the workers, the tinker, Spike Right with you, Sekhmet!, and a sudden frightened movement, perceptible only in one's mind. And then, from the south, even Sekhmet should be able to feel the wrongness. Like the ground suddenly falling away beneath one's feet.

Group B
It takes lots of false trails, backtracking.
And then they leave the orderly stone sewers and come to something else.
Once, something very large and very fast hit the ground here. And it didn't stop going just because there was earth and stone in the way. What it left was a long hole, angled southsouthwest and down, which filled in with rubble and dust even as it was being created. It has settled into semi-natural caves of dirt or sheer stone, with unpredictable connections.
The current likely path is wide enough to fit a hound, but not a tinker. Or maybe they could find another way around?

[bc56]

The groups' missions are increasingly blurred together.

Group A.
If the switch is in the statue, Sekhmet can't touch it without burning herself. But then again, that would be pretty obvious after the first switch. She orders whichever creature is least vulnerable to silver to examine the statue for switches while she looks at the carved messages.

Group B.
The... Ship... Fell, right? The idea of a spaceship still doesn't really fit in Sekhmet's mind. But this could be a solid lead on it. Can the tinker climb? If so, it should explore the shaft created by the falling object, while the one of the hounds follows the strange creature's trail.

[Gullara]

[Kitty and Obriane's Apartment]

"I do have a phone number." Jaahlyn admits as she fishes a worn yet strangely modern phone out of her pocket. "So let's exchange some contact information and you'll be able to reach me whenever you have the need of me."

"Uh-huh. That's convenient." Obriane remarks. She had expected some more esoteric way of communication considering what Jaahlyn was but perhaps that had been dumb as Kitty was as much 'fey' as she was, wasn't she? "So what would you be able to help us with again?"

The satyr smiles and gets off her seat so she can make an elegant bow. "Music is my tool, miss. With it I can weave illusions, enthrall, encourage and alter. When I play, the world itself listens."

[Kitty and Obriane's Apartment]

Kitsuki looks at Obriane and raises her eyebrows. She'll punch in Jaahlyn's contact info as she asks, "Ah, what are you thinking?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Kitty and Obriane's Apartment]

Obriane looks equally confused. "...you mentioned that you'd be able to deal with spirits too?" She inquires before glancing at Kitty. "Maybe we could call her in for especially tough jobs? Couldn't hurt to have back-up."
She then turns back to Jaahlyn. "But then you need to be able to show up on time as I will probably just be able to call a few hours in advance."

The satyr smiles. "If that's what you wish, I will do my best miss."

Of course, that all depends on Kitty's approval of the idea.

[Gullara]

[Kitty and Obriane's Apartment]

Kitsuki nods quickly. "Yeah, for sure. I'm sure something will come up. Then we can both get something we need." That's more positive than she was expecting from Obriane right now, but her fiancee is nothing if not level headed and practical.

[Lord Magtok]

155 Hastings Lane

Fidelia is almost as clueless on the trigger and as unsure how to proceed as Jenette is. She had carefully worded her statement not to mention that they worked there for a reason, but the fact that there still lay an implication didn't cross her mind. She stays half in her chair, instinctively wanting to help in some way but unsure how she could or whether her presence would do anything but make it worse. Eventually, she decides to speak up.

"We- she doesn't owe them anything; I'm getting their help with the cure, not her. A-and VIGIL isn't forcing us to work for them to get it. I'm I'm only there so I can- um, learn how to keep her safe, if- if anything ever happens."

After a moment or two, whatever set Cherise off seems to have been dealt with, or sidestepped, or maybe she's just run out of tears to cry over it. It's hard to say, because she's not really in the right frame of mind for any lengthy explanations right now. After Laurent's taken her hands in his, and given his daughter a chance to pull away from that hug, Jenette decided this is probably a good time to extricate herself from the situation, and she steps away from her mother. Hey, while she's standing up, maybe they should just get up and go now volunteer to wash the dishes before they head back home? Jenette puts her plate away, since nobody ate from it to begin with, and if it looks like Fidelia's nearly done, she'll hold her hand out for that, too. This whole family get-together has been an absolute mess; let's just do this one thing and go home.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Fort Aegis]

Spako gestures at his state of dress.

Sylvess stares.

...

Sylvess shakes his head to snap himself out of it.

"O-oh, well, I probably have some-" He digs into his ever-present satchel for a few moments, eventually pulling out what looks like an old, grey robe. "Uh, would this do for now? It's some kind of magical robe thing."

[Recaiden]

The groups' missions are increasingly blurred together.

Group A.
If the switch is in the statue, Sekhmet can't touch it without burning herself. But then again, that would be pretty obvious after the first switch. She orders whichever creature is least vulnerable to silver to examine the statue for switches while she looks at the carved messages.

Group B.
The... Ship... Fell, right? The idea of a spaceship still doesn't really fit in Sekhmet's mind. But this could be a solid lead on it. Can the tinker climb? If so, it should explore the shaft created by the falling object, while the one of the hounds follows the strange creature's trail.

Well, they all came here looking for the same thing, on one mission. If multiple signs are leading in one direction... that's gotta be a good thing, right?

Group A

A worker is brought up, and taps at the statue until it finds the hidden switch. Much the same place as on the other.
And another narrow passage is revealed. This one just curves smoothly to the left.
And one can hear, down the pass, hasty uneven footfalls, heading away.

Group B

Able to climb at an okay speed, the tinker and three hounds turn left, to explore the shaft.
Handholds are treacherous. Molds and roots of plants creep from the earthen wall, here and there are patches of mud where water drips and seeps through. But it isn't that steep.
Insects scurry away at their approach.
And before long, they find proof that they're on the right track: a scorched plate of dominion capital-ship armor, broken away from where it belongs and wedged in the earth.

One hound squeezes through the narrow tunnel and continues tracking.
Left, right, right, right, up, left, up, right, down. And there, an opening! It's here, curled up in a nest of old yellowed papers. The unnamed creature. Much like the statue, it is like them but not like them, from the hive but not their hive.

[Deathkeeper]

[Fort Aegis]

Spako gestures at his state of dress.

Sylvess stares.

...

Sylvess shakes his head to snap himself out of it.

"O-oh, well, I probably have some-" He digs into his ever-present satchel for a few moments, eventually pulling out what looks like an old, grey robe. "Uh, would this do for now? It's some kind of magical robe thing."

[Fort Aegis]

Somehow it only occurs to Spako now how weird it is that Sylvess brought his satchel into the bath. Still, he shrugs and goes over to the shallow end. Making a gesture with one hand, the water on his body north of his ankles flows off back into the pool.
"Sounds like we really need to take inventory of that thing some day." as he takes the robe from Sylvess and slips it on.

[bc56]

Group A:

Sekhmet motions a pair of hounds into the tunnel ahead of her, but her mind is elsewhere. She's only focusing on this enough for her body to follow the hounds.

Group B:

The group in the shaft is given a simple affirmation and told to keep going.
On the other hand, the other hound is given much more concrete instructions. It's told to stay put and wait for further commands from Sekhmet. Then she reaches out with her mind to touch the strange creature, using the hound as a relay. Uh, hello?

[Recaiden]

Group A

The hounds emerge in a wider hallway.
To the left, it would lead back into the temple, but is interrupted by a deep crevice, a crack in the earth fifteen feet wide and further down than they can see.
To the right, it returns to the regular old sewers found in the north part of this area.
Something was here, recently. An unfamiliar, vaguely human scent, with sparks of power to it. It went down, into the fissure. But it had also recently come from the west, the sewers.

Group B

The strange creature's dim thoughts light up with alarm, it spreads its membranous wings to take flight, out the bolt-hole at the back of its nest.
And there is also a sort of flailing curiosity. Who, what, is this? This Sekhmet it is hearing-without-hearing?

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Fort Aegis]

As is traditional for magical attire, the robe's shape adjusts to fit Spako comfortably and snugly when he puts it on. It feels soft and warm.

"Oh, cataloguing the hoard was something done by uh- by other people." Sylvess remarks, cutting himself short. More dead people, presumably. "A dragon has their favourite pieces that they can pick out, but I don't think it's all that common to keep track of everything within a hoard. At least, um, it wasn't particularly common back home?"

If Spako likes to track his hoard on a spreadsheet, Sylvess isn't going to be critical of him for it. It's clearly a smart and diligent thing to do, and he's all the more silly for not having done that.

"So...clothes shopping then?"

[bc56]

Group A

Follow it! Sekhmet thinks. Ugh. She's going to need more focus to fly down that fissure, but she needs to be calming the other creature. What to do, what to do?

Group B

Shhhh, it's okay. I won't hurt you. Sekhmet thinks, trying to calm the creature. Poor thing, you're all alone. She really does have pity for it. Living down here is barely a living at all.

[Deathkeeper]

Fort Aegis

"Fair enough. Maybe just the magic stuff, then." Wouldn't they feel silly if Sylvess was carrying some grand adventure-worthy artifact in his satchel and had no idea?
"Oh, wait! If we're going to go clothes shopping we have to get our names and stories straight, don't we?" he asks, snapping his fingers.

[Recaiden]

[Group A]

Follow it! Sekhmet thinks. Ugh. She's going to need more focus to fly down that fissure, but she needs to be calming the other creature. What to do, what to do?

Seems like Sekhmet has already decided how to prioritize.
The hounds jump down into the crevice, claws digging out footholds that last long enough for another jump.
The workers start spinning threads of silk anchored to the wall that could be climbed, spiderlike, down and after.
The trail leads south, towards that sense of wrongness.

[Group B]

Shhhh, it's okay. I won't hurt you. Sekhmet thinks, trying to calm the creature. Poor thing, you're all alone. She really does have pity for it. Living down here is barely a living at all.

The creature is fairly pathetic, isn't it? Or at least it used to be.
I don't think it really appreciates Sekhmet's sympathy, but the calm assurances do calm it down, a little.
Its ears swivel forward and it creeps very slowly towards the hound that found it.

[bc56]

Group A

Sekhmet remains above. She's not going to risk flying into the hole without her consciousness fully in her body. But she lets her minions continue the chase.

Group B

We want to help you. You don't have to be alone anymore. Sekhmet's also trying to figure out what this creature is. What is she looking at? What are its capabilities?

[Recaiden]

Group A

Whatever it was was just here.
The hounds are the faster.
But it knows the terrain like the back of its hand (presuming that it has hands), able to move surely while those following have to check where they leap, listen for the sounds and smells and glimpses (a flash of white, long sinuous shapes) of their quarry.
The wrong feeling intensifies, and it gets just a little more difficult to stay in touch with her swarm...

Group B

The creature is both optimistic and confused by that. What's wrong with being alone? As long as you know what you're doing. It doesn't reach the level of words.

What you have is a small leathery semi-humanoid creature, maybe two feet long/tall if you don't count the tail, that looks like some sort of hive gargoyle or imp.
It has a pair of batlike wings.
It has four limbs, each of which end in three long fingers with longer claws.
It has an oversized and kind-of-pointy head: bearing long cupped ears that stick out from the sides of its head, something like a goat, and big wide eyes, solid white with no pupils nor iris, but it can clearly still see out of them. No nose to speak of, just a slight protrusion and two slits in the center of the face. It chin is so recessed that you can't see its mouth if you look head-on, but it has a pair of tusks/mandibles/bladed pedipalps along where you'd expect the jawline to be on something more human, which connect to chitinous armor covering most of the head and running down its back.
And then of course it has a tail, twice as long as the rest of it, covered in white fur, and ending not in a stinger but a curved claw-blade.
The creature is abuzz with spiritual energy, the same sort that was invoked when Sekhmet was transformed and that flows through most (but not all) of the hive creatures to some degree. It has some affinity for illusion and enchantment, but doesn't know or remember to use it.